Miraculous Ladybug: Secrets Revealed
by Alice Pink
Summary: Chat Noir's goal has always been to find out Ladybug's true identity. Can one hint about Ladybug lead to the truth? Secrets will be revealed about the past as mysteries unfold. How will Marinette and Adrien react to everything? Read more to find out.
1. Chapter 1: Birthdays and Worries

Chat Noir and Ladybug have yet again defeated another akuma attack. Chat Noir is bothering Ladybug about her identity, but Ladybug said it's dangerous.

"Chat Noirrr! I have to go." Ladybug said in annoyance. "Can't you just... tell me something? Something about you. Pleassse?" He held her hand as he pleaded. "No. I-I can't." As soon as she said that, a smile was vanishing from his face. She saw how much hope he had had in his eyes. He looked so sad not knowing anything.

"Fine! Fine! I'll tell you something. But then you can't ask me anymore questions." She turned around towards Chat Noir and thought. "Hhhmmmm...oh I know! My birthday is in June."

"What day?" Chat asked as his smile reappeared.

"Not telling." She removed her hand from his and turned away. "I said I'd tell you something, but I don't have to tell you everything. It's bad enough that I told you the month."

"Well I'm gonna get you something. June is only a week and a half away and you deserve something special. I'll get you a gift on the first day of June. Your gift is going to be purrrfect." He said smiling at Ladybug.

"Fine. If you have to get me a gift, then you can. But I think a great gift would be no more Chat puns." They both laughed at the thought until they heard Ladybug's earrings and Chat Noir's ring start to beep again.

"We should probably get going before we change back. I'll see you tomorrow for patrol." Ladybug said as she walked to the edge of the school building.

"Ladybug."

She was about to go until she heard Chat Noir. "What? I know you'll miss me, but I have to go" She said laughing. "I know that. It's just that...well...you told me your birthday so I want to tell you mine."

"You don't have to-"

"I want to. It's only fair since you told me yours. My birthday is in September."

'That's weird.' Marinette thought. 'Adrien's birthday is in September too.'

"Well if that's all Chat, then I better get going." As she said that she swung off of the building with her yo yo. She swung across the city and dropped through the trapdoor on her balcony. Landing on her bed.

"Tikki. Spots off." Her suit disappeared and Tikki landed in her hands.

"I thought you said that it was way too dangerous for Chat Noir to know anything about your true identity?" Tikki said with a smile.

"It's not like I told him the day or anything." Tikki's smile grew as she looked at Marinette.

"It's no big deal. Just one minor detail about my life. He just wanted to know something" Marinette walked down the stairs from her bed and sat at her desk.

"What you couldn't resist those cat eyes?" Tikki said with a smirk. Marinette could tell what Tikki was thinking and she didn't like it.

"Tikki! It's not like that! We're just partners. Him knowing what month I was born isn't going to change a thing. He probably just likes to party or something."

Marinette pulled out her phone to check what time it was. "Eight o'clock. I should probably get started on my homework." Tikki flew onto Marinette's desk and watched as she completed her homework. Tikki always liked to watch Marinette do her homework. For some reason Physics seemed interesting to Tikki.

'I wonder why the akuma attack was later in the day?' Marinette thought to herself. 'For once I didn't miss any school. Well I guess I won't have to get any notes from Alya tomorrow.'

"Hey Tikki." Marinette said as Tikki looked up from her homework.

"Don't you think it was weird that the akuma attack was later in the day? I mean I didn't miss any school today and the akuma attacks are usually earlier in the day. Isn't that strange."

Tikki smile faded. "I don't know Marinette. You'd expect Hawk Moth to get tired too, but we can't know when he'll akumatize another victim. We just have to be prepared for anything at any time of the day."

A worried look appeared on Marinette's face. "That's the problem Tikki. We'll never know exactly when something like that will happen. I'm worried about him striking at night. When everyone's sleeping and no one knows what's happening outside of their houses. Something really bad could happen and I'd be too sound asleep to notice. And if I'm tired then I could mess up something like forgetting to capture the akuma. Anything could Hap-"

"Marinette!" Tikki stopped her and hugged her cheek. "Everything will be fine. You and Chat Noir always save the day." "But what if-" "No" Tikki put her tiny hands over Marinette's mouth. "Just forget about it." Tikki removed her hands from Marinette and looked at her.

Marinette got up from her chair and her worried look disappeared. "You're probably right Tikki. I'm probably being paranoid or something. Maybe I should just try to get some sleep. I'll finish my homework tomorrow."

Tikki smiled. "That's better Marinette. Worrying isn't gonna get you anywhere."

* * *

"Plagg, can believe that?" Adrien said as he fell on his bed with a sigh.

"Believe what?"

Adrien sat up and looked at Plagg. "Ladybug actually told me something about her. I didn't think she'd actually tell me anything since she always says how important it is for our identities to remain a secret."

"It's not like she told you her name. Now do you have any Camembert? I'm starving."

"Here." Adrien said tossing Plagg a piece of Camembert. Plagg swallowed the cheese whole in one bite. "But now I know what month her birthday is in. And I just might know the perfect gift."


	2. Chapter 2: The Uninvited

Tikki woke up laying on Marinette's bed. She flew down to Marinette who was sitting at her desk working on something.

"Marinette what's that?" Tikki asked yawning.

"You know how Chat Noir reminded me about my birthday. Well I decided that I want to have a party this year. Right now I'm making the invitations."

Tikki was now interested. She peered over Marinette's shoulder to watch as Marinette hand made every invitation.

"I already asked my mom and she said I can. Although I've never had a birthday party before Tikki. I've always been too busy for a party and I just never seemed interested in having one before. So I don't know what a perfect birthday party is supposed to be like." Tikki suddenly started to giggle.

"What?" Marinette said. Now curious to find out what her kwami could possibly be laughing about.

"So Chat Noir changed the entire way you celebrate your birthday?" Tikki said with a smirk.

"I-I just want to have a party this year. Chat Noir just reminded me that my birthday is in two weeks." Tikki's grin grew as Marinette kept talking. "Tikki, stop looking at me like that! No more comments I have to go to school now." Marinette shoved her invitations into her backpack and Tikki flew into her purse.

* * *

So far this school day was just as boring as any day. Marinette had given out most of her invitations for her birthday party. She invited everyone in her class except for Chloe. Now all Marinette needed was some inspiration for a dress. A dress that she could wear to her party. She sat at the edge of the steps of the school with her sketchpad out and ready to design. But Marinette was completely out of ideas.

Marinette put her face into her hands with a moan. "Tikki, I have no idea what to do for a dress. What would you wear?" Mainette asked hoping for an answer to her problem.

Tikki rose from Marinette's shoulder and flew in front of her. "Marinette, I'm a kwami. I don't wear clothes. And if I did, they would probably all be ladybug themed."

"I can't have a ladybug themed dress Tikki. That might give me away."

"I know that Marinette. But remember inspiration is all around us. It could be right in front of you. Besides you have two weeks to find it."

Tikki went back to lay on Marinette's shoulder and Marinette face planted into her hands again. But she pulled her head up and heard her phone vibrating inside of her backpack. She took her phone out of her bag to see Alya calling her.

"Aahh! I forgot about the cupcakes! Alex and Kim made a dare to see who could eat the most cupcakes. I have to leave now or Alya will kill me." Marinette said as she picked up her backpack in a panic. But then something fell out. She looked back to see what it was and she couldn't believe it. It was one of her birthday invitations.

"What?" She said in confusion. "No. I handed out all of my invitations. Who could I of forgot . . . Adrien! I forgot to give Adrien an invitation! Tikki, I have to go give him one. Today's Friday and If I don't see him until Monday then he might think I hate him and don't want him at my party."

"But Marinette" Tikki said as Marinette stood up. "You have to get the cupcakes to Alex and Kim. Everyone's counting on you."

"But I need to get the invitation to Adrien now. He's at fencing practice right now, so I just need to slip it into his locker. It won't take long."

"Marinette there's no time." Tikki paused for a moment to think as Marinette hoped for an idea. "You go. I'll put the invitation in his locker."

"Tikki, no. That's too dangerous."

"The invitation's not that big and we're already at the school. I can handle it."

"Alright fine." Marinette said handing Tikki the invitation. "But I'll be right back."

As Tikki flew through the school to the boys locker room, she held the invitation in her small hands. She remembered which locker was Adriens since Marinette had broken into his locker before to erase an embarrassing message she left on his phone.

Tikki dropped the invitation on the ground before she flew into Adrien's locker. She unlocked it and then picked the invitation back up off of the ground. She flew up to the top shelf and slipped the invitation into Adrien's bag but saw something she certainly did not expect to see.

"Plagg?!" Tikki shouted in surprise. "What are you doing here?!"

Plagg flew up out of Adrien's bag to see Tikki standing in front of him.

"Plagg, why are you here?!"

Plagg still didn't know what was going on. He was still half asleep. "What? . . . Tikki? Tikki!" After realizing Tikki was actually talking to him, he flew over and hugged her.

"What are you doing here?" He asked still hugging her.

"I asked you that first Plagg." Tikki said pulling Plagg's grip off of her.

"I was a . . . just sleeping."

"Of course you were Plagg. You know It was nice seeing you again but I have to go."

None of them realized that fencing practice was over and Adrien had just walked into the locker room.

"Noooooo. Please stay Tikki." Plagg pleaded.

"No Plagg. I have to go now." As soon as she said that she turned around and ran right into Adrien.

"Oops." Tikki mumbled.

"Plagg what's going on?" Adrien demanded.

"Adrien this is Tikki." Tikki turned around and glared at Plagg. "She's Ladybug's kwami."

"Shut up Plagg!" Tikki shouted.

"Wait. You're really Ladybug's kwami? This is awesome!"

"Plagg stop telling him stuff about m . . . wait! How do you know Plagg?! You shouldn't know about him." After a little bit of thinking, Tikki knew the answer. "You're Chat Noir aren't you?"

Adrien scratched the back of his head. "Uuuuu . . . ya. I'm Chat Noir."

"Oh my gosh! I never thought that you'd be Chat Noir."

"Are you going to tell Ladybug?" Adrien asked. "Because if you are then you need to tell me who she is." A smile appeared on Adrien's face as he thought about that.

"Of course not!" Tikki said. "Ladybug has to figure out who you are herself. And so do you. But believe me, when you do, you won't believe who it is." Tikki flew behind Adrien who was standing at his locker. "I have to go now."

But before Adrien could turn around and respond, Tikki was gone.

'So that was Ladybug's kwami? And her name was Tikki. I wonder why Plagg had never mentioned Tikki before.' Adrien had came close to knowing who Ladybug really was. But he was not going to give up searching.

* * *

Tikki flew out to the steps in front of the school where she saw Marinette sprinting towards her. Marinette had some how found a way to convince Alya to let her leave.

"Ti-ikki. Tikki. I-I'm back." Marinette said out of breath. "Did you put the invitation in A-Adrien's locker?"

"Yup. Don't worry Marinette he has your invitation." Tikki was not going to tell her about Adrien (Chat Noir). Marinette had to figure it out for herself.

"Okay. Thank you Tikki." A smile of reassurance came to Marinette's face.

* * *

"Time for patrol." Marinette said bouncing up from her chair. "Tikki, spots on!"

She transformed into Ladybug and leaped from her balcony. She swung on her yo-yo all the way to the top of the school where her and Chat Noir usually meet. She saw that Chat Noir was already there sitting on the ledge. As soon as he saw her, he stood up and grinned at her.

"Why are you grinning like that?" Ladybug asked confused. Then she noticed that he had both of his hands behind his back.

"Well, I know your birthday isn't until June, but I couldn't wait." He said as he pulled out a small gift bag from behind his back and handed it Ladybug. "Here."

Ladybug couldn't resist the smile that Chat Noir had on his face. She took the gift from him and opened it. It was a charm bracelet with a ladybug and a cat charm on it. It also had an Eiffel tower charm.

"Oh Chat. It's beautiful. Thank you." She said wrapping her arms around him. Chat Noir loved it when Ladybug hugged him.

"It's nothing. I just thought it was nice."

"Well I love it." She said unwrapping her arms from him. "Come on. We have to go patrol the city."

She swung off of the building as Chat Noir used his staff to jump from building to building. They went through the entire city in a half hour and didn't see anything suspicious. They reached the top of the school again after they finished patrolling the city.

"Well we didn't see anything out of the ordinary so I guess we better get going." Chat said walking towards the other edge of the building.

"Thanks again Chat Noir for the bracelet. It's amazing." Ladybug said walking away from him. "See you later Chat Noir." Chat Noir watched as she leaped across the buildings. He smiled until he couldn't see her anymore.


	3. Chapter 3: The Charm Bracelet

"What are you doing Marinette?" Tikki questioned.

"Just looking at the bracelet Chat gave me. It's really pretty and I can't believe that he would get me something so nice." Marinette said putting the bracelet inside her purse. She could not erase the smile she had on her face. Chat Noir's gift had made her happy.

"Well," Tikki said with a smile," he is in love with you."

"Or so he says." Marinette's grin grew. "He's Chat Noir. He could say that stuff to every girl. Who knows how he really feels?" Marinette fell back onto her bed and looked up at the ceiling. She had just wasted 20 minutes staring at the charm bracelet. She couldn't look away from it. She loved the way it sparkled in the light. The only thing Marinette hated was that she couldn't wear it outside of her house. If anyone saw Chat Noir give Ladybug that bracelet, then they might figure out that she was Ladybug. And her identity would definitely be given away if Chat Noir saw her wearing it. So she must keep it in her room.

Tikki flew over to the bracelet's gift bag and looked at it. She wanted to get a closer look at what Chat Noir had given Ladybug. "Hey Marinette. Did you read this note on the bag?"

"What?" Marinette said, sitting up on her bed. "What note?"

"This one." Tikki said, pointing to the side of the bag.

"No." Marinette said, grabbing the bag.

Marinette found a small sticky note with a message written in red pen. "Ladybug. Your hair's as dark as night. Your eyes sparkle like the stars. I can't resist a smile when you're around. I look forward to seeing you every moment we meet. Happy Birthday Princess. I hope you think of us every time you see this bracelet." Marinette stared at the note for a minute thinking. "Well Tikki, I guess I know how he feels about me."

"He must really like you Marinette."

"I guess that explains why he's always smiling at me. It's like every time I look at him, he's smiling back. Sometimes it's weird, but other times I smile back at him." Marinette put the bag down and smiled at Tikki. "That also explains why he's always staring at me."

Tikki smiled. "He did say your eyes sparkle like the stars."

"Stars." Marinette spoke quietly, started to think again. "Stars! Stars Tikki."

Tikki was now confused at what Marinette was saying. "What about stars?"

"They're perfect for my dress. You know, the dress for my birthday party. I know just what to make. I gotta get designing."

Marinette ran down to her desk and immediately got out her sketch book. She stuck out her tongue as she thought of her dress. She had to stop thinking of Chat Noir and start working.

* * *

Marinette woke to the loud sound of her alarm after it had gone off nearly three times. She had stayed up late working on her dress and barely got any sleep. Luckily, she had finished it. It was a knee length black dress with blue and yellow stars on the bottom half.

"What . . . NO! I'm gonna be late!" Marinette shouted as she scrambled out of bed. She got dressed, grabbed her stuff and started running to school. She had been late to school so many times before that her teacher would probably kill her for being late again. It was 8:25 when Marinette got there, so she had 5 minutes until class started. But Marinette was too busy running to school to notice the time. Actually Marinette was too busy trying to get to school that she wasn't watching where she was going and she ran right into someone. Marinette immediately realized who she ran into by the sound of his voice.

"Are you okay?" Adrien asked, helping Marinette to her feet.

"Oh uh . . . Ya. I-I'm fine. Just running to you. No I mean you r-running to school. N-No I mean running to school. Where I ran into y-you." Marinette stammered.

Adrien now had a confused look on his face as he tried to decipher what Marinette was trying to say. He handed her her backpack as Marinette picked up her purse. "Don't worry Marinette. We have five minutes until class starts."

Marinette tried to think of something to say, but she couldn't think of anything that could make sense. She opened her mouth to speak, but then Alya suddenly came and dragged her away. Alya pulled her to a corner of the school.

"Girl I have big news." Alya whispered. "Sorry for taking you away from Adrien, but this is important."

"Don't apologize. I couldn't think of anything to say." Marinette assured.

"I found out that Ladybug and Chat Noir go on patrol almost every other day! I've been keeping an eye on them and looking at every video and picture of them. I even found out that they meet on top of our school! Can you Believe that Marinette? Paris's heros meet on top of our school to protect us." Marinette's eyes widened as Alya talked.

'I guess me and Chat Noir have to find a new place to meet for patrol. And I'll have to try and stay away from Alya a little bit as Ladybug so she doesn't figure anything else out.'

"Uuu . . . ya Alya. I can't believe it."

"You watch Marinette. I'm going to figure out their real identities." Alya said with such determination in her eyes. Some times that scared Marinette. "Oh, I gotta go tell Nino. See you in class." Alya ran away quickly to go find Nino and left Marinette at a corner of the school.

* * *

Marinette had managed to watch where she was going for the rest of the day. She didn't want to be embarrass herself again by crashing into Adrien. Who knows how she controlled her clumsiness for the day? But now the school day was over and she could go back home before she does something stupid to embarrass herself.

Marinette had actually had a really good day. Alya was happy (Even though it involved her as Ladybug and Her and Chat Noir had to find a new place to meet for patrol) and Adrien had smiled at her a couple of times (Marinette somehow had managed to stay calm when she saw him. Luckily he didn't try to talk to her because she hadn't thought of anything to say to him yet.).

Marinette crossed the road to the bakery. She went to the back door and noticed a small box sitting in front of the door with her name on it. Marinette grabbed the box and quickly ran up to her room. She sat on her bed with the box as Tikki flew out of her purse.

"Tikki." Marinette began. "Look at this box I found in front of the back door."

"What is it?" Tikki asked, flying over to Marinette's shoulder.

"I don't know. But there's only one way to find out." Marinette said as she opened up the box.

Inside of the box was Marinette's charm bracelet with a note.

Marinette immediately knew it was her bracelet (After all, she did stare at it for 20 minutes the day before admiring it). She picked up the note that was inside and read it. "I know you're Ladubug." Marinette was shocked to realize what she had just read.

"Someone knows I'm Ladybug, Tikki. But how?" Marinette looked at Tikki for an answer.

"Marinette you lost your bracelet. Someone must have connected the dots and figured out the truth about you."

"But my bracelet was in my purse all day."

"You left your purse open all day. I tried to tell you but you were running to school and then you were in class. I didn't have a chance. I don't remember when it fell out. It could have been anywhere."

Marinette looked down at the note again. "I wonder who found it." Marinette then realized there was something written on the back of the note. It was a date and place.

"Tikki look." Marinette said, showing her the other side of the note. "Meet me on Saturday May 23rd at the park at 3:00. See you then Ladybug."

"I guess I'm going to the park tomorrow Tikki."


	4. Chapter 4: Save the Date

What would Marinette say to this the mystery person? With every thought running through her head. Marinette had laid on her bed all morning thinking about it. Today's the day Marinette would meet with the person who knows her identity. Yesterday she was shocked to find out that someone had discovered she was Ladybug. Now all she could do was wonder who it was. Marinette didn't have a clue who it could be. She'd just have to meet them to find out.

Marinette had wasted most of the day thinking about everything. She still didn't know what to say or do. It all depended on who found out.

Marinette sat up from her desk and checked her phone for the time. She saw that it was 3 o'clock and grabbed her purse.

"I guess I have to go to the park now, Tikki. Time to find out who knows my secret."

"Are you nervous?" Tikki asked, flying into Marinette's purse and poking her head out.

"Just a little. But now I know that I need to be a bit more careful as Ladybug. I can't let anyone else find out who I am."

Marinette closed her purse (She made sure that her purse was shut. She wasn't making that mistake again.) and started to walk to the park. She found a bench under a tree and sat down to wait. Marinette looked around. Watching everyone and everything. She watched to see if anyone would come towards her or look at her.

* * *

Adrien watched from atop a building near the park. He stood there, thinking of what to say.

What could he say? Everything was mind blowing to him and he couldn't believe it. He would have never thought that Marinette was Ladybug. Now all he had to do was tell her. And that would be harder than he thought. Adrien might have been more confident as Chat Noir, but now he knew who was hiding under that mask. He realized that he loved Marinette. What's even worse is that he couldn't think of anything to say. He was anxious thinking about it.

Adrien, already transformed into Chat Noir, leaped from the building and on top of a tree. He dropped down from the tree and landed right in front of the bench that Marinette was sitting on. His heart was now racing and he had a thousand thoughts going through his head.

'Be cool! Be cool! I can do this. Would it be wrong to ask her out? Maybe. No! Yes? Maybe I should just tell her to go on a date with me. Maybe that would be easier.'

* * *

"Ah!" Marinette shouted after being spooked by Chat Noir. "W-What are you doing here Chat Noir? Is there an akuma attack?"

"No, no, my lady. Everything's fine." Chat Noir assured. "I'm here to see you."

"Me? Wh-Why me?" Marinette said, standing up from the bench.

"Because you're my Ladybug." Chat said, kissing Marinette's hand. "Lets go somewhere more private to talk." Marinette didn't have any words. She had a shocked look that wouldn't leave her face. Before she could say anything, Chat Noir scooped her up and carried her to the top of a building. The same building he had just been watching from.

Chat put Marinette down on top of the building where no one could see them. He stepped back from Marinette, waiting for a response. Marinette stood up and looked at Chat full of questions.

"What?! How did you find out? And where did you find my bracelet?" Marinette demanded, crossing her arms.

'Adrien knew how he had found the bracelet. He saw it on the ground when Alya came and jerked Marinette away. But he couldn't tell her that yet.'

"Let's not focus on the details." Chat said stepping closer to Ladybug. "So. You're my Ladybug. I can't believe it was you the entire time." A smile had appeared on Chat's face as he said that.

"Ya. I'm Ladybug. Now you know."

Chat's smile grew as he listened. "Well . . . do you want to know who I am?" Chat asked happily. He had always wanted to tell her, but it was her choice if she wanted to know.

But Marinette had to think for a moment.

'Do I want to know who Chat Noir really is? He already knows who I am.' Then a thought came to her head. 'Wait. I like Adrien and Chat Noir loves me, so Chat might try to ruin anything I have with Adrien by trying to kiss me in front of him. Adrien will think I'm taken and never like me! I can't know who Chat Noir really is.'

"No." Marinette answered, making Chat's smile disappear.

"What?"

"I don't want to know who you are."

"Why not?" Chat asked with a sadder voice.

"It can mess up everything." And before Chat could object, Marinette immediately said "It just can. I don't need to know yet."

"Yet." Chat said with his smile returning.

"Yes. Yet." Marinette said, rolling her eyes.

"Well Ladybug now that I know who you are . . . I know who I get to go on a date with." Chat leaned closer to Marinette with a smirk.

"Whoa, whoa! Who said we're going on a date? I didn't agree to anything."

"I say we're going on a date."

"And why would I do that?"

"Because I know your secret. Unless you want me to reveal my identity to you, then you have to go on at least one date with me."

"Really? You're going to force me to go on a date with you?"

"Don't worry princess, it will be purrfect."

"You don't know that . . . I could wear sweat pants and a stained shirt."

"No. It has to be perfect. Wear a dress and I'll wear something nice."

"Fine. If I have to. But only one date." Marinette couldn't believe that Chat Noir was making her go on a date. "Now can I go home?"

"Okay. I'll take you home." Chat said as he picked up Marinette again and dropped her off at her balcony.

"You do realize that I can walk." Marinette said walking to her trapdoor.

"I'll see you later for our date, My Lady. I'll pick you up here at 7:00."

Chat Noir leaped off of Marinette's balcony and headed into town. He was determined to make tonight amazing. He'll finally get to go on a date with Ladybug.

* * *

Marinette walked down the steps from her bed and sat at her desk. She laid her head down and looked up at Tikki (who she had just let out of her purse).

"I never thought you'd have to go on a date with Chat Noir." Tikki said, starring at Marinette.

"At least it's only one date." Marinette said, lifting her head up. "I should have expected this. He was bound to find out sometime and I should have knew he would try to date me. He did try to kiss me every chance he got."

* * *

After talking to Tikki for about an hour, Marinette thought she should try to find the dress she'd have to wear on her date. Marinette got up from her desk and went down stairs to a closet. She pulled out a pink and white dress and went back up stairs to put it on.

"What do you think Tikki? This is the dress I'm going to wear when I go on a date with Chat Noir." Marinette said, looking in the mirror.

"It's nice Marinette, but don't you need to be Ladybug when you go on a date with Chat Noir?"

"Ugh! Tikki, I'm so stupid. I can't be seen as Marinette with Chat Noir. But what do I wear Tikki. Chat said that I have to wear a dress. And I need to be Ladybug, but I don't have a magical mask."

"You need to visit Master Fu again Marinette. He has a special ladybug necklace that you can use."

"What would a special ladybug necklace do?"

"When you are transformed as Ladybug, you put the necklace on and your suit will change into a ladybug dress. When you need to fight, take the necklace off and the dress with change back into your ladybug suit."

"That seems easy."

"It is.." Tikki said. "Superheroes do get invited to a lot of parties and most people would probably wear a dress or a tuxedo to a party."

"I guess it's a good idea that Master Fu created a necklace for Ladybug." Marinette said, smiling.

"And every dress is different for every Ladybug. Now all you have to do is get the necklace from Master Fu. You should go visit him."

"I'll go right now Tikki." Marinette said, as Tikki flew into her purse. Marinette ran down the stairs and headed to Master Fu's shop.

* * *

"Thank you Master Fu." Marinette said happily.

"You're very welcome Marinette. You know, Chat Noir was just here for the same reason. But instead of a necklace, Chat Noir has a watch. Did Tikki tell you how the necklace works?"

"Yes. I know what to do. Well . . . I'll see you later Master Fu." Marinette said, waving good bye to Master Fu.

Marinette walked out of the shop and headed back to the bakery where she sat in her room sketching designs until 7:00. Then, she transformed into Ladybug and went through her trap door to her balcony to wait for Chat Noir.

* * *

Chat Noir used his staff to leap through the air and land on the railing of Marinette's balcony.

"Hello, My Lady." Chat said bowing at Ladybug. "Are you ready to go?"

Marinette stood up and smiled at Chat Noir. "Yep. I even got a special necklace to give me a ladybug dress."

"Me too. But I have a watch instead." Chat Noir walked over to Ladybug and suddenly pulled out a blindfold and tied it around her eyes.

"What are you doing?" Ladybug asked.

"I want our first date to be a surprise. You'll be blindfolded and I'll carry you to the spot for our date." Chat Noir immediately her picked up and started carrying her through the air. After being carried through the air for about a minute, Chat gently put Ladybug down.

"Okay take your blindfold off."

Ladybug took off her blindfold and looked around to see where Chat Noir had taken her.

"Tada." Chat said full of joy.

Chat Noir had brought her to the Eiffel Tower and they were standing at the very top. She saw that there was a table with some ice cream sitting on it.

"I would have brought you to a restaurant or an ice cream parlor, but I thought you'd like it better if we saw the sun setting from the Eiffel Tower."

Chat smiled and slid his watch on his wrist. His cat suit vanished in a matter of seconds and changed to a black and green tuxedo.

"What do you think?" Chat Noir asked grinning at Ladybug.

"Nice." Ladybug said, putting her necklace on. Her suit sparkled away and changed to a red polka dot dress with black tights and heels.

"I guess this is my dress b-" Ladybug fell forward before she could finish her sentence. Luckily, Chat Noir had caught her in his arms. "But I think the high heels are a mistake." She finished as Chat Noir helped her up.

"You look amazing." He said, handing her an ice cream cone.

"Thanks. You look amazing too."

They both ate their ice cream cones and watched as the sun was starting to sink in the sky. They both had easily got used to there new outfits as they both ate their ice cream.

"Hey Ladybug."

Ladybug turned towards Chat Noir with a smile.

"It's 7:30."

Ladybug's smile grew as she ran to the edge of the Eiffel Tower and leaned over. She watched as the entire Eiffel Tower lit up with bright sparkling light.

"I love looking at the Eiffel Tower. It's so pretty. I've created a bunch of designs and outfits just by staring at it."

"You like to design clothes?" Chat Noir asked, knowing the answer. 'Chat had witnessed some of Marinette's designs before as Adrien, but she didn't know that.'

"Ya. I hope that one day I will be a fashion designer. And my dream is to meet the famous fashion designer Gabriel Agreste."

'I can't believe Marinette's dream is to meet my dad. I never would have guessed that, but one day I'll make her dream come true.'

"I bet you'll be a great fashion designer."

They both stopped talking to listen to some music they could here off in the distance.

"Do you hear that?" Chat Noir asked.

"Yes. That music is from one of Chloé Bourgeois's parties. She throws a party every month, but this party is to celebrate the end of the school year. My friend was actually trying to convince me to go to the party, but I wasn't interested. She especially wanted me to go because she thought that the guy I like might be there."

Chat jumped back when he heard her say "the guy I like". 'The guy she likes. Who does she like. I need to know who.'

"So . . . who is this crush of yours?" Chat asked, smiling at Ladybug. His smiling made her realize what she had just said.

"U-Uh. N-No one." Ladybug stuttered.

"C'mon. I gotta know who my competition is."

"You don't have any competition and I doubt he likes me."

"Why wouldn't he like you? Your awesome."

Ladybug laughed at that and listened as the music got louder. "Fine I'll tell you. But only because we're FRIENDS." She said with a stern voice.

"I like . . ." Chat leaned closer to her at the edge. "Adrien Agreste." She said in a quieter voice."

"What?! You like him?" Chat was more surprised than ever when he heard that.

"Yes. Have you heard of him?

Chat Noir was now blushing a little bit. Ladybug liked him and she didn't even now that she had just told him that. "U-Uh. Yes. Yes I've heard of him. Why didn't you think that he would be at that party?"

"Well he's always busy and even if I did go I probably won't be able to have an actual conversation with him. I can never speak clearly to him. I always stutter or say something really stupid."

"You never know. He could be there. You should go to the party. "Chat said leaning against the railing.

"I don't know Chat. He might not be there and I'm on a date with you right now."

"Well my dream is to make you happy, so you can leave to go and see the guy you like."

"Okay, fine. I'll go to the party."

Ladybug walked over to Chat Noir and hugged him.

"Thanks Chat Noir. But I feel bad for leaving you and this date. I'll make it up to you. I owe you a date."

Ladybug jumped off of the tower and swung through the city on her yo-yo all the way to the Le Grand Paris hotel.


	5. Chapter 5: The Revealer

Chat Noir laughed as he watched Ladybug swing away.

"Amazing. She truly is amazing. But still clueless." He smiled.

'Marinette just told me that she has a crush on me and she doesn't even know it. I never knew, but how did I not see it before. She would stand up for her friends in front of the entire class, but she couldn't speak one sentence to me. I've got to go find her. She's off to find me at the party and I have to make sure I get a dance with her.

Chat Noir leaped through the air and headed for the Le Grand Paris hotel.

* * *

Ladybug hid in a corner outside of the hotel and detransformed into Marinette.

"Luckily I didn't change out of my pink dress earlier, Tikki."

"See, I knew you weren't stupid like you said." Tikki laughed.

"I can't control when I'm smart. I only succeed when I don't try. Now lets go inside Tikki."

Tikki darted into her purse as Marinette walked to the front entrance. Marinette went inside and noticed Alya at a table full of desserts.

"Hey Alya." Marinette said, tapping on Alya's shoulder.

"Marinette?! You actually came? I didn't think you'd come." Alya said, confused.

"I changed my mind."

"Did you changing your mind have anything to do with a tall, blonde haired model?" Alya smirked.

"Is he here? Did Adrien come?" Marinette blurted.

"Ya and Uh . . . " Alya peered behind Marinette's shoulder. "It looks like he's staring at you."

"What?!" Marinette shouted, instantly turning around and meeting the gaze of Adrien Agreste.

Adrien smiled at Marinette, making her blush as he moved across the room to her.

"Hey." Adrien breathed.

"U-Uh hi."

"Would you like to dance?" Adrien asked.

Marinette's face turned even brighter pink as Alya quietly laughed at her.

"What? W-With me?"

Adrien nodded his head as he continued to smile at Marinette.

"You want to dance with me? Uuuhh . . . sure."

Adrien's face lit up with joy. He grabbed Marinette's hand and led her to the center of the dance floor. Marinette could hardly feel her feet as Adrien Agreste held her hand.

'Why does Adrien want to dance with me?'

As Marinette and Adrien reached the center, the music had changed to a slow dance.

'A slow dance! Me slow dancing with Adrien Agreste!'

Marinette's heart dropped as Adrien wrapped his arms around her waist. She had stopped breathing for a few seconds, but managed to put her hands on his shoulders.

"You look beautiful, Marinette."

Marinette jumped at the sound of his voice. "Thanks. Y-You look beautiful too. I mean you look better than me. You look more beautifuller than everyone here. You Uh . . . always look beautiful." Marinette looked at her feet in embarrassment for what she had just said.

Adrien lifted Marinette's face up and looked deep into her bluebell eyes. "No one in this room could even compare to how beautiful you are." Adrien whispered to Marinette. Adrien leaned in to kiss her as Marinette's face froze.

'I can't believe it. He's actually going to kiss me!'

Adrien was about to kiss Marinette when Chloe noticed them. She had been looking for Adrien since the slow song had come on.

"Adrikins!" Chloe ran over and pushed Marinette to the ground. Chloe hugged Adrien firmly and tried to kiss him.

Adrien and Marinette just stared at each other for a moment in surprise.

"Oh poor little Marinette." Chloe said in an annoying voice. "You have such a pitiful little crush on my Adrien. It's just sad that you can't realize that me and Adrien are together. You're just so awkward that Adrien would have never liked you." Chloe laughed at Marinette as Adrien released Chloe's grip from him.

Marinette's eyes watered as Chloe continued to laugh. She had never been so embarrassed.

'Chloe told Adrien that I liked him before I even got the chance.'

Marinette stood up and ran outside of the hotel. She slid down against the wall and put her head in her hands.

"I should have been the one to tell Adrien that I liked him." Marinette cried to herself. "But I had kept it a secret and now look what happened. Keeping secrets never gets anyone anywhere. All secrets should be revealed!"

An evil purple butterfly appeared near Marinette and found its way to her charm bracelet. Suddenly, the Hawk Moth symbol appeared over Marinette's sad eyes.

"Look what secrets have done. No one has to suffer like you have. You can reveal all secrets, so everything will be better. But first, you must bring me Ladybug and Chat Noir's miraculouses."

Marinette smiled at the thought and her mind never thought of it being wrong. "Yes Hawk Moth."

Marinette's hair formed into a bun on top of her head with her eyes turning dark blue. Her outfit became a white dress with black spots. It was almost the opposite of her ladybug dress. The charm bracelet disappeared from her purse and appeared on her wrist. She was no longer Marinette.

* * *

"Chloe what is wrong with you?!" Adrien shouted, full of anger. "Why would you say those things to Marinette? Me and you will never be together because I love Marinette."

Chloe was astonished by Adrien's reaction. "What?! You must be kidding. She's awkward Marinette."

"You're wrong about her. She's amazing Marinette."

Adrien left Chloe and ran outside to look for Marinette. As soon as Adrien made his way out of the hotel, he heard a scream. After hearing that, he knew he had to transform. He hid behind a nearby bush.

"Plagg! Claws out!." He called.

* * *

Chat Noir used his staff to reach the top of a building and saw what was going on. People everywhere were angry and crying. They were uncontrollably speaking their minds and secrets to everyone. They couldn't stop and all they did make things worse. Friendships were ruined, fights were sprung, and hearts were broken.

Chat Noir had spotted the akumatized villain, but she looked way too familiar to him. He had to get a closer look. He leaped from building to building until he reached her. He immediately knew who it was.

"Marinette?" He spoke in a sad voice.

She turned towards him and smiled. "Oh Chat Noir, you finally showed up. But my name is not Marinette. My name is Mari and I am The Revealer. I reveal all secrets. No secrets should be kept! All secrets shall be revealed!" She shouted.

"No. You can't do this. It's wron-"

"No! Everything is right. Secrets are lies and secrets hold people back! They ruin everything."

Mari rose up higher in the sky and started to reveal more secrets again. She was different kind of villain though. She didn't blast people like normal villains. Instead, she'd look at you and somehow find a way into you mind and make you confess your secrets. You can'tescape.

Chat Noir thought of what he could possibly do. She could make him confess to many things and he didn't know any of her weaknesses.

'Wait. I know one of her weaknesses. Me! This all started because Chloe made fun of her crush on me.'

Chat Noir found Mari staring at at poster of Adrien on the side of a building.

"You know Adrien has a crush on you too."

Chat Noir's words woke her from her thoughts. "No he doesn't! Adrien Agreste will never like me!" Mari screamed.

"Yes he does." Chat said, walking closer to Mari. "He never got to tell you."

"Your lying, Chat Noir! I messed up everything between me and Adrien with my secrets!"

"No, you didn't. He still likes you." Chat said, stepping closer.

"I wouldn't take another step if I were you! I could make you reveal your identity to all of Paris right now. And I should because I need your miraculous."

"No you don't need my miraculous. Hawk Moth does for some reason. You're Marinette. You're a designer and caring friend. You like Adrien Agreste and he likes you. That's who you are." Chat pleaded.

"Stop saying that! I'm not that person and you wouldn't know if Adrien liked me! You are not Adrien Agreste!" She cried as her eyes watered again.

Adrien looked around and saw that everyone had fled the streets. He saw a chance to do something and he knew exactly what to do.

"Cataclysm!" He shouted as he placed his hand on the sidewalk they were standing on. The ground crumbled beneath Mari before she could fly away. Only everything above her waist was free. She could still look at Chat Noir, but she could not escape.

"Now Mari, I want you to know something. And it is entirely true."

"What?!" She barked.

"Adrien Agreste doesn't just like you . . . he loves you. And I know this because I am Adrien Agreste. Claws In." Chat Noir's transformation vanished as he moving closer towards Mari.

"Now do you believe me?" Adrien leaned in and kissed Mari. As he kissed Mari, he lifted her from the concrete and took her bracelet. He stood her on her feet and finished the kiss. But as he released, she fell to the ground. She stood still as if in a deep sleep.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **I hope you like my story so far. This is the first story I have ever written and I have a ton of ideas. There's a lot more coming in this story later on. Thank you guys for all the favorites and followers. Especially the reviews.**

 **-Alice Pink**


	6. Chapter 6: In Betweens

"Hello. Wake up." A southing voice called.

Marinette awoke to someone shaking her. Marinette's eyes shot open and she immediately lifted her head off of the ground. She saw a young blonde woman staring at her.

"Good. You're awake. You've been sleeping for a while."

"Where am I?" Marinette said, sitting up.

Marinette saw that she was sitting on the floor of a humungous library. She looked around and examined the room. There were very few windows and it looked like it was dark outside. The room was really nice and comfortable. But the woman was sitting next to her on the floor watching her.

"You're in The Betweens." She said, quietly.

"What?" Marinette exclaimed, confused. "Where is The Betweens and why am I here? How long have I been asleep?"

"The Betweens is in your mind. If your strong enough, which you are, your mind goes here to live a "better" life. And you've been sleeping for about a day."

"A better life? What does that mean? How did I get her? And who are you?"

"My name isn't important right now, but you must have had something evil inside of you. See, normal people's minds just get extremely angry, but if your strong enough, your mind comes here. This place is supposed to be a refuge. Each door in the main hallways leads to a perfect world, but what no one realizes is that there is no such thing as a perfect world. Once you enter a world, you can't ever escape." The woman said in a sad voice.

"You seem to know this place really well. How do you know all of this and why are you here?"

"My . . . partner was like you, but I came here after him and never escaped. I've stayed here in the library. The library has every book and I love to read. This building is mainly filled with hallways and doors that lead to perfect worlds, but there is also the library where we are, the top floor which has bedrooms, and the fountain. I can only access the bedrooms and the library though . . . but you on the hand . . . can leave." The woman said, looking down at the floor they were sitting on, playing with a ring on her finger.

"How long have you been here?" Marinette asked, concerned.

"About six months."

"Six months! That's awful." Marinette said as her eyes started to water.

"I don't get hungry, but I do age. You won't get hungry until you leave. But if you're here for more than a week then your body in the outside world will disappear and you'll start to age like me."

"I hope I'm not here for a week. I don't remember much of what happened before I came here though. I know that I was akumatized, but I can't really remember what happened next. I do know that Chat Noir was there." Marinette looked up at the woman. "Did anyone notice that you were gone when you first came here?"

"Only my partner and that's because he was with me at the time. My partner's mind was sent here, since something evil was inside of him, and I found a spell book to rescue him. I used a spell to enter this world through him. I entered, but I didn't know everything that I know now. We both weren't strong enough to leave on our own. But I had a miraculous that would make me strong enough to leave and I gave it to him so that he could go instead. I had stay and he was transported back. I've been here ever since." She faltered.

'She knows about miraculouses. But how? Who is this woman?

The woman's eyes watered as if she was about cry. Marinette could tell that her partner must have been someone special that she had lost.

'How much has she lost? She might have lost a lot more than her partner.' Marinette thought.

"If I get out of here, I'm gonna find a way to get you out too. By the way my name is Marinette." She said, standing up. "Now how do we get out of The Betweens?"

"Well." The woman said, standing up. "It's not exactly easy to escape. Thinking about it is, but as you walk past the rooms, they'll call you. They whisper to you, trying to get you to go inside. They'll try to convince you and get into your head. I had found another person here in Betweens before, but she couldn't resist. She walked in a door and was trapped there." The woman reached for a book on a shelf and opened it up. "This book has a map of all of the Betweens. We need to go to the fountain. The fountain has transporters around it and there is a barrier that you can get through with your miraculous. Let's get going." She sighed.

* * *

Marinette was suspicious and confused by this woman. She wouldn't tell her her name and she was acting completely normal about this. She's really nice and caring. Marinette thought if this woman, who's been here for half of a year, really wanted out of here that she would have tackled her and stole her miraculous.

They walked through the many hallways as Marinette awed at the place. It was magnificent. Almost like a museum and a hotel with beautiful paintings hanging all over the walls.

Marinette suddenly started to hear the whispers as they passed an old red door.

"Marinette . . . Marrinette . . ." The voices whispered. Marinette jerked her head around and looked at the door.

"Don't worry." The woman started. "Just ignore them. They'll get louder as we go."

The woman seemed very familiar with the building, but still used the book's map to find her way around. They had passed multiple doors. Everyone was different and they all whispered.

"Marinette. Come on, Marinette." The door spoke. "Famous fashion designer Marinette. Come on inside."

"I'm not a fashion designer yet." Marinette responded, stopping at the door.

"In here you are. You are the best designer in all of Paris."

The voices sounded soothing and sweet. They were peaceful and intriguing, which made them very hard to ignore. Marinette smiled, but quickly shook the thoughts from her head and kept moving forward.

"We're almost there." The mystery woman ahead said.

The voices got louder and louder. It was getting harder and harder for Marinette to ignore them.

"Marinette. Open the door." Another room whispered. "In here . . . you . . . and Adrien Agreste are together. You're even a fashion designer for Gabriel Agreste." The voices creeped.

The mystery woman turned around to see Marinette stopped at a door.

Marinette smiled and started to open the door a little bit. She peered inside, marveling the light and beauty.

"No! What are you doing!" The woman said running over to Marinette and slamming the door shut. "You can't go in. You'll never be able to leave. You have a chance of getting out of here. Don't blow it! If I had the option to leaving, like you, I wouldn't be standing here.

"Sorry." Marinette said, covering her ears the rest of the way down the hallway. She didn't want to hear the doors anymore and make a horrible mistake.

* * *

"We're here. Just walk through the barrier and step onto one of the transporters by the fountain." The woman said pointing ahead. "Once you walk through the barrier, you can't come back through. So don't drop anything. And make sure you're securely wearing your miraculous."

Marinette stepped through the barrier as the woman watched with an undefinable look on her face. Marinette turned around to face her from the other side of the barrier.

"I'll find a way. I will get you out of here. I won't give up." Marinette encouraged.

Marinette stepped onto a transporter by the fountain and waved goodbye to the mystery woman.

"I don't know if there is a way for you to get me out of here . . . but . . . will you deliver a message for me?"

"Yes. Anything. What is it?" Marinette asked, knowing she only had seconds.

"Tell Adrien Agreste . . . " She started quickly. "The family portrait, 09-26-01."

Marinette was now even more confused by this woman now.

"Wait how do you know Adrien?" Marinette shouted just as she was teleported away.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **In Betweens. What do you think of the name? I imagined this chapter as a place that you can't physically visit, but your mind can. Almost like a really vivid dream. After a lot of thinking for this chapter, I came up with this perfect world filled palace because everyone wants a perfect world and that's usually why people are angry. The akumatized villains all want their version of a perfect world. I hope that you liked this chapter and can imagine the dream palace.**

 **-Alice Pink**


	7. Chapter 7: Waking Up

Mari's outfit faded. The Akumatized appearance blew away like paint chips in the wind, uncovering Marinette. Her normal appearance was brought back as the other one faded.

"Nnn . . . " Marinette moaned. She opened her eyes to see Adrien's bedroom. "What!" She shouted, falling off of his couch. Marinette stood up from the floor and looked around.

'Why am I in Adrien's room? I was transported back to my body from The Betweens, but . . . why am here?'

Marinette walked around Adrien's room and went over to his desk. She was surprised to see Adrien's computer screens.

'Adrien really likes ladybug. And he's trying to figure who she is. This sounds like Alya. He has three computer screens with the Ladyblog and one with Ladybug and a bunch of question marks. He's practically stalking me.' She laughed thinking about it.

"No!" Marinette cried picking up a flyer on his desk. "I'm missing." She stared at the flyer in disbelief. "How long have I been gone? . . . wait!" Marinette put her hand on her head. She was starting to remember something. "I was . . . akumatized. Chat Noir no . . . Adrien was there. Or both . . . were. Adrien kissed me and I fell into a deep sleep. I think." Marinette paused as her eyes got bigger in realization. "Adrien is Chat Noir!"

Adrien stepped out of his bathroom with a towel sitting on his shoulders from taking a shower. "Yes." Adrien whispered from behind her. "And I see you're awake."

Marinette turned around and stared at him without words. Her face grew hot as the silence continued. Until Adrien broke it.

"I was wondering when you were gonna wake up, but your kwami told me that I'd have to wait. She said that you were the only one who could do anything." Adrien said, walking over to Marinette. "I'm so happy that you're okay." He mumbled, hugging her. He pulled away, smiling at Marinette as her face beat red.

"Y-You w-were Chat Noir the whole t-time."

"Yep." Adrien said, confidently. "And you My Lady were Ladybug. Which means . . . you're the princess that I fell in love with." Adrien leaned closer to Marinette.

Marinette thought she'd burst into flames in that moment, but instead she laughed.

"Hahaha. Are you gonna call me those nicknames in public now that you know who I am?"

"I don't know, but if I do, you'll know that it's because I love you."

"I can see that." She smirked. "You're internet stalking me." She pointed to his computers.

"Well uh . . . " He said as his cheeks started to turn red.

"Don't worry. I was stalking you first. But instead of stalking Chat Noir, I was stalking the other you." Marinette was starting to get used to speaking real sentences to Adrien.

They both laughed until Marinette picked the flyer back up.

"How long have I been missing?" She asked in a sad voice.

"Uh . . . three days." Adrien said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Three days!"

'The woman said I had only been asleep for a day. Maybe time moves twice as fast out here.'

"I had taken you off of the streets when you were akumatized. You've been on my couch the entire time. I had to get up earlier each day so my dad's assistant, Natalie, wouldn't come into my room to wake me up. She'd have a lot of questions if she found a missing teenager in my room." Adrien laughed.

"Thanks. How are my parents and Alya? What about school? And the damage I caused when I was akumatized." She rambled.

"They're really worried about you and we haven't had school for a couple of days. People are still spontaneously revealing secrets. Mr. Damocles thought it would be too dangerous for us to go to school with everything going on. But we only have four days of school left anyway. Once you fix the damage, we'll probably have school tomorrow."

"Oh that's good." Marinette sighed. "I should probably go repair the damage I caused."

"Here." Adrien said, handing Marinette her charm bracelet. "This is were the akuma is."

"Thanks. But I'll need your help. Meet me at my house as Chat Noir."

Tikki and Plagg appeared from one of Adrien's drawers. They had been catching up with each other since they were reunited.

"Why?" Adrien questioned as Tikki flew over to Marinette.

"I'll have to tell my parents why I've been missing for three days. I'll tell them that I was akumatized, but it will be more believable if one of Paris's superheroes was there. You'd have to convince them because most akuma attacks aren't three days long. I don't want them to think that I'm lying and had run away." She said, walking over to one of the open windows. "Tikki spots on!" Marinette whispered to her kwami, changed into Ladybug and hopped on the ledge.

"I'll see you in fifteen minutes at my parent's bakery." She said, swinging out of the Agreste mansion.

Adrien was still marveling her transformation, but managed an "okay."

* * *

Ladybug landed on top of a nearby building and saw the peoples of Paris revealing their secrets. She hated it. She hated what she had done to everyone. Ladybug threw the charm bracelet to the ground and stomped on it, letting the evil akuma fly out.

"No more evil doing for you little akuma." She said, swinging her yo-yo. "Time to deevilize!"  
She caught the butterfly and let it go. "Bye-Bye little butterfly."

Marinette threw her yo-yo up in the air and Shouted "Miraculous Ladybug." All of the Parisians stopped telling their secrets and felt relieved. Ladybug picked up her newly fixed charm bracelet and faced towards the direction of the bakery.

"Time to catch up with Chat Noir." Ladybug whispered to herself. She didn't have to go far to reach the bakery, but she saw Chat sitting on her balcony. She looked around to make sure the streets were empty by the bakery before she swung over to her balcony and detransformed.

"Did you fix everything?" Chat asked, turning to Marinette.

"Yep. Everything's okay. Now we probably shouldn't keep my parents waiting any longer. They've had enough worrying for the past couple days."

Chat lifted Marinette and carried her to the front entrance of the bakery and set her down.

They walked inside and were immediately hugged by Marinette's parents.

"Marinette! Where have you been? We were so worried. Are you hurt? What happened? Sabine cried.

"I'm fine now mom." Marinette assured. "I was akumatized, but now I'm better."

"Akumatized! Why were you akumatized? What happened to you?"

"The reason is not as important as the fact that she is okay." Chat started. "She had fallen asleep after being akumatized and I kept her safe. There's nothing to worry about anymore."

"Oh." Sabine sighed. "Thank you Chat Noir. If there is any way I can ever repay you, Chat Noir, just ask."

"Well . . . I am a little hungry." Chat smiled, making Marinette roll her eyes.

"Of course. Anything for you." Sabine babbled, handing Chat Noir a box of sweets. "Come back anytime Chat Noir. You can have free food anytime you come back here."

"Thanks. I'll leave you to catch up with your daughter Mrs. Dupain-Cheng." Chat said, leaving the bakery and jumping back up to Marinette's balcony. He sat up on the ledge eating some of the cookies he had just got.

* * *

"Marinette. I'm so glad you're okay." Sabine cried, hugging Marinette again. "I'll call Alya and tell you you're alright. She's been worried too."

"Ya." Tom agreed. "She had helped us make flyers for you, so I'm sure she'll be relieved to know you're okay."

"Okay well I'll be up in my room."

"Here." Sabine said, handing Marinette a small bag of muffins. "You must be hungry."

"Thanks mom." Marinette said, taking the bag and dashing up the stairs.

Marinette stepped into her room and squinted at the trap door leading to her balcony.

"I know you're up there Chat Noir." She said, glaring.

"I'm just checking in on you princess." Chat smiled, peaking his head through the open door.

"I just saw you like two minutes ago."

"Well you could have tripped and fallen down the stairs and if I wasn't here, I wouldn't be able catch you." He smirked, hopping into her room and walking down the stairs. "I'm here to protect you."

"There is the likelihood that I'd accidentally fall down the stairs, but I think I can defend myself."

Chat smiled at her, but suddenly Marinette's phone started ringing.

"It's Alya." Marinette said, looking at the screen.

"Put it on speaker." Chat said walking over.

"Fine." Marinette said, tapping her phone. "Uh hi . . . Alya."

Alya: "MARINETTE! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN! Everyone was so worried and I didn't know what had happened."

Marinette: "Ya uh . . . I got akumatized but I'm fine . . . now."

Alya: "You were akumatized? I guess what everyone said was true. There were some rumors that Chloe made fun of your massive crush on Adrien."

Chat started laughing as Marinette rapidly pressed buttons on her phone to turn off the speakers. Alya had just shouted to Chat Noir (Adrien) that Marinette had a crush on him and she was dying of embarrassment.

Marinette: "Alya!"

Alya: "Everyone knows about your crush, Marinette, but I'm just glad that you're okay. By the way we have school tomorrow. It was on the news that all jobs and schools will resume tomorrow."

Marinette: "Thanks for letting me know, but I'm probably gonna get bombarded with questions tomorrow. And I'm sure Chloe will be "happy" to see me back."

Alya: "Well I'll see you tomorrow at school. Bye."

Marinette: "Bye."

"So . . . your massive crush on me." Chat smirked.

"Shut up . . . and it wasn't a massive crush on you." Marinette corrected as her cheeks turned red.

"Of course. I can totally see that, because all of these posters of me say otherwise."

Marinette's cheeks turned even darker red as she thought of the fact that Adrien was under that mask. "Let's talk about something else." Marinette awkwardly tried to change the subject.

"Okay . . . what all happened in your mind when you were asleep? You somehow changed back to Marinette."

"I was . . . in the Betweens!" She shouted, confusing Chat Noir. "And . . . there was a woman . . . she was . . . trapped there." Marinette whispered under her breath. She was now starting to remember more about what had happened. "I need to see Master Fu." She mumbled. "We need to go visit Master Fu!"

"Wait. What is the Betweens and who is Master Fu?" Chat questioned.

"The Betweens is in our minds . . . sort of. And Master Fu is the one who gave us our miraculouses. We need to go see him, so that I can tell him about the Betweens. I also have to tell him about my friend that I left in the Betweens." Marinette said, pushing Chat Noir over to her window. "Meet me on my balcony tomorrow before school starts. We can go see him before we have to go to school."

"Okay ,but I'm completely confused. I think I deserve some cookies."

"Go make them yourself. You just got some free ones from my mom."

"I don't know how to make cookies and they'd never be as good as the ones you and your family make." Chat pleaded.

"I'll give you some tomorrow morning. Now go. You should get some sleep since we'll have to get up earlier."

* * *

Chat Noir quietly knocked on Marinette's window, which she had heard and immediately let her kwami out of her purse.

"Tikki, spots on!" Marinette called, transforming herself. She grabbed a bag of cookies she had on her desk and made her way out of the window.

"Good morning, My Lady." Chat said, grabbing Ladybug's hand as they jumped down to the streets.

"Here's the cookies I promised you." Ladybug said, giving Chat the bag.

"You actually brought me cookies? Thanks."

"There enjoy your cookies. Now Master Fu's massage shop is kind of in the middle of town." Ladybug said, pointing ahead.

"Let's go." Chat smiled at Ladybug while eating a cookie.

They walked through the streets of Paris as citizens smiled and waved to the superheroes. They were all surprised to see them walking the streets on a day where there was no akumatized villain, but they still cheered for them.

Ladybug and Chat Noir both walked into the shop and Master Fu greeted them.

"Welcome Ladybug and Chat Noir. What brings you here?"

"Well Master Fu." Ladybug started. "The last time there was an akuma attack . . . I was akumatized. But it was different than any other attack. My mind went to some place called the Betweens."

"The Betweens?" Master Fu said in surprise. "I've only heard a couple of tales about the Betweens. Many people don't believe it exists because it is thought to be a fairytale."

"I went to the Betweens after Chat Noir talked to the akumatized me. I was there for a day and a half, but I was asleep for three days here, so time must move slower there. There was also a woman there who helped me escape. I promised her that I'd find a way to save her. We need to find something."

"It sounds like you both need a little help. Maybe you need another partner to help you protect Paris and find out more about the Betweens. I could find another person to hold a miraculous."

"Really. We're getting another partner?" Chat Noir chimed in. "What miraculous?"

"It will be a surprise Chat Noir, but you'll know soon enough. Now I think you two should get going. You have school to go to."

"Ya. Let's go Chat Noir."

Ladybug and Chat Noir detransformed and walked out of the shop. Marinette turned to Adrien and rambled about everything she saw in the Betweens while they walked. Marinette stopped rambling to turn around and walk forward, but she ran right into a pole.

"Are you okay?" Adrien asked, sitting by Marinette on the ground.

"Ya, but I-I hit my head. I-I . . . I remember something. That woman . . . in Betweens. She told me . . . to tell you something. She said, "Tell Adrien Agreste, family portrait, 09-26-01." I didn't get to ask her how she knew you, since I was transported out too fast."

"I think I have an idea of what you're talking about, but I'll check it out later. Are you sure you're okay?" Adrien helped Marinette to her feet.

"Ya. I'm fine. Let's just get to school."

* * *

 **A/N**

 **How do you like the story so far? There's a lot more coming. There are many different ways this story and its theories can go. If you guys have any ideas for some extra stuff to add, tell me. I love to hear your reviews. Keep reading.**

 **-Alice Pink**


	8. Chapter 8: The Findings

Marinette's head hurt from running into the pole outside of Master Fu's massage shop, but she was starting to remember everything that had happened when she was akumatized and when she was in the Betweens. Adrien was helping her walk to class since she was a bit dizzy and still trying to remember everything.

They had walked into the classroom five minutes before class started.

"You're different." Alya whispered to Marinette. "You just walked into class with Adrien and haven't completely fallen over yet. How did you manage that? Did you being akumatized give you some massive confidence that overpowers your awkwardness?" Alya questioned. "I can see that it gave you a bruise on your forehead."

"Oh yeah." Marinette said, putting her hand on her forehead. "And I'm not that different. I uh . . . realized that I should try being Adrien's friend first. And I realized that me being awkward is just going to make him feel awkward too. I'm trying my best to not melt away or burn up when I'm around him. Unfortunately, I can't control my clumsiness. I just hope I don't embarrass myself too much in front of him." Marinette rambled.

"Maybe now you can finally ask Adrien out." Alya laughed.

"I don't think I'll ever be able to do that no matter how much I try."

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng!" Chloe shouted at Marinette. "Last time I saw you, you ran away crying like a little baby. Heard you went missing because you can't face the truth." Chloe laughed at Marinette.

"I was akumatized Chloe and it was because of you!" Marinette said with a stern voice as she stood up.

"Oh please. You still can't accept the facts that you caused everything and it's all your fault."

"It was both of our faults that I was akumatized and I'm fine, thank you. Now I don't need your attitude today, Chloe. So just sit in your seat and leave me alone."

"What ever." Chloe said, marching over to her seat with her "best friend" Sabrina.

Marinette slumped back down in her seat as class started.

Marinette could hardly pay attention at all during class. She spent the entire time thinking. Her mind couldn't stop thinking about what everything she was remembering meant.

'When I was akumatized . . . Adrien had kissed me. He also admitted to having a crush on me. Was it . . . true? Does Adrien actually like me or was he just saying that to save me? He told Mari, "Adrien Agreste doesn't just like you, he loves you." I need to know if Adrien actually likes me.' Marinette laid her chin on the desk in confusion. 'He loves Ladybug, but . . . how does he feel about me?'

The bell rang for everyone to go to their next class and Marinette needed to talk to Adrien.

"Okay, see you tomorrow class. Don't forget to do questions 10-20 on your homework." Miss Bustier called.

"Adrien." Marinette said, her voice getting quieter.

The entire class left the room, leaving Marinette and Adrien alone.

"Yes." Adrien asked, turning around.

"How do you actually feel about me?" Marinette blurted, surprising Adrien. "You always said that you loved Ladybug and you said that you liked Marinette before you saved the akumatized me. Did you just say that stuff to save me or what did you-"

Adrien placed his finger over Marinette's mouth to stop her.

"I meant every word that I said. Everything that you heard was true and I would never lie to you on purpose."

Adrien's words put a smile on Marinette's face. She immediately hugged him in response.

"So what are you doing for lunch later?" Adrien asked with a smile.

"I'm just going to the library. I want to see if there are any stories about the Betweens there."

"I'll help you." Adrien volunteered. "I want to learn more about where you were. I was really worried about you. You stayed on my couch, not moving, for three days. It was really confusing."

"I'm sure you'll be a great help." Marinette's smile grew.

* * *

Marinette threw a pile of books onto a table in the library. Tikki flew out of Marinette's purse to help look through them. Marinette sat down and opened one of the books.

"You'll have to really pay attention to details in these stories, Marinette. You have to be able to recognize whether they're fake stories or ones written from experiences of being there." Tikki said, flying over to the book Marinette was looking at.

"Yeah. But no matter whether they're true or not . . . I've got to find a way to get my friend out of there. We might even be able to find a way to get the other people out. Who knows how many people are trapped there?"

Marinette stared at each book with such persistence. She hoped for an answer to her problems.

"Hey, Marinette." Adrien said, waving to Marinette before sitting next to her. "I brought you a sandwich."

"Thanks." Marinette said taking a bite.

"I thought you'd be hungry since you skipped eating lunch to come to the library." Adrien grabbed one of the books on the table and opened it. "So, have you found anything yet?"

"Yes, actually. The Betweens is said to be a magnificent palace that is almost endless. There are hundreds of hallways filled with doors that lead to different worlds. Each world may only be in a small room, but they're bigger on the inside. But the big problem is that every book says you can never escape a room once you're inside."

Adrien looked at the open pages of his book. "Look." He said pointing to the page. "This story says that you can only enter the Betweens through a mind. Maybe there is a way to somehow get there through our minds."

"Maybe, but I just hope that there is a way to get everyone out. The problem is that the Betweens doesn't physically exist. It's not filled with people, it's filled with minds and souls. And we don't know exactly if the people's bodies will appear back with their mind." Marinette said, taking another bite of her sandwich. "I guess we won't know until we get them out."

"What was the name of the woman you met in the Betweens?" Adrien asked.

"I don't know." Marinette said, looking up from the book. "She wouldn't tell me. She said it wasn't important. I guess she just . . . thought that there wasn't any hope. She was nice enough to help me get out of there, but she wouldn't tell me any personal information. She only told me the story of how she got there."

"You know how she told you to tell me family portrait, 09-26-01?"

"Yeah."

"Well if that woman told you to tell me then . . . she probably knew my family. It's probably my family portrait. We should go look for it after school. My dad has a meeting later, so he won't be there to stop us."

"Okay, but I'll have to tell my parents first." Marinette stated, opening up another book. "I just hope that we find something. But right now . . . " Marinette looked at her phone. "We have fifteen minutes before class starts."

* * *

Marinette only had a couple afternoon classes to go to before school was over. She hadn't paid much attention to anything all day. She had other things to think about.

The bell rang and the school day was over. Alya glared at Marinette as she got up and talked to Adrien. She was becoming suspicious of her best friend.

'Suddenly Marinette was able to talk to Adrien.'

It didn't make sense to her.

"So are you ready to go?" Marinette asked, appearing in front of Adrien.

"Yep."

Adrien took Marinette's hand and they started to walk out of the classroom before being stopped by Alya.

"Whoa! What's going on between you two?" Alya stared at their interconnected hands. "Are you two dating? And if you are then why wouldn't you guys, especially my best friend, tell me." Alya crossed her arms and leaned closer, glaring Marinette.

"No. We aren't dating . . . at least I don't think we are . . . yet." Marinette said, confused.

"Then how are you two so close lately?" Alya argued.

"We don't know. That's just how we are." Adrien confirmed, before grabbing Marinette's hand and rushing out of the room, leaving Alya alone and confused.

"I hate not telling Alya the truth." Marinette moaned. "I know that we can't tell her about anything, but I hate to do this to her."

"I don't like lying either. Especially to Nino. Nino's my best friend and I wish that I could tell him everything." Adrien and Marinette started heading for the Agreste mansion. "Speaking of Alya . . . what she said about me and you . . . what are we?" Adrien asked, turning to Marinette, looking right into her bluebell eyes. "Are we dating?"

"I don't know." Marinette answered. "I loved Adrien and you loved Ladybug. I may have been under the mask but you never liked just me and I always rejected Chat Noir for Adrien. I have no idea what we are." Marinette looked at her feet. "It's complicated."

"How can this be complicated?! I love you Marinette!" Adrien shouted, putting both his hands on her shoulders. "You and I were under the mask the whole time. I don't just love your confidence and stubbornness as Ladybug, but I also love your creativity and honesty as Marinette too. I love them both and they're both you."

A smile rose on Marinette's face. She started to blush from the compliments and was bursting with happiness. She finally faced the facts that she liked both Adrien and Chat Noir. They both were one person and they both felt the same for her. She knew what they were now.

Marinette took Adrien's face and lightly kissed his lips. She smiled as she surprised Adrien.

"Then . . . I guess we're dating." Marinette grinned, holding Adrien's hand again.

"Marinette, your Ladybug is showing." Adrien joked. "That confidence that I love is leaking through."

They continued their way to the Agreste mansion. Both of their faces couldn't resist a smile as they held hands.

* * *

Adrien unlocked the gate to the mansion and led Marinette inside.

"Well . . . this is my house." Adrien said as they went through the front entrance.

"Wow. It looks different as Marinette instead of Ladybug. Still beautiful and big, but different." Marinette awed.

"Let me think . . . a family portrait. Most of the pictures here are my modeling pictures, so it's probably not in this room. And I don't think it's the big picture of me and my dad because that's not a family photo. It doesn't have my mom in it. But there is a picture in the dining room of me, my mom, and my dad. We should check there."

"Okay." Marinette said as she followed Adrien. "I wonder what's important about the picture. Maybe there's something secret inside of it or a hidden sign in the picture."

They quickly reached the dinning room. Marinette looked at the table.

'That's way too many empty chairs for a two people.' Marinette thought.

"Here it is." Adrien said, pointing to the picture. "This is the only family portrait that is still hung on the wall in the house."

Marinette left her train of thought and looked up from the table in shock. She stood there staring at the picture in disbelief. Her eyes widened as she stood still. Adrien looked at the picture with a smile before realizing the look on Marinette's face.

"What? Do you see something in the picture?" Adrien said, walking over to Marinette.

"It's her." Marinette mumbled. "From the Betweens." Marinette paid no attention to Adrien and kept her eyes on the picture, not even blinking.

"What did you say . . . and what are you looking at?" Adrien said, waving his hands in front of Marinette's face.

Marinette still didn't react to him. Adrien put both of his hands on Marinette's shoulders and shook her awake.

"That's your mother?" Marinette questioned, turning towards Adrien.

"Yeah. What's the problem?"

"She was in the Betweens. She was the woman who helped me escape. That's how she knew you and that's probably why she didn't tell me her name."

Adrien's stared at Marinette for a moment in disbelief before pulling a chair in front of the picture. Adrien stood on top of the chair and tried to take the picture off of the wall.

"It's on hinges." Adrien said, looking at the side of the picture. "Just like the painting of my mom in one of the other rooms."

Adrien opened up the painting like a door. There was safe behind it.

"09-26-01." Adrien entered the combination and opened up the safe. He smiled. "She made the combination my birthday."

Marinette walked over to the safe and looked inside. "It looks like a . . . passageway. I wonder what it leads to."

"Only one way to find out. Claws out!" Adrien transformed and crawled inside of the safe.

"Wait! We don't know what's in there and it's dark." Marinette screamed into the safe.

"Then it's a good idea that I have night vision." Chat Noir's voice echoed.

Adrien found a cord that led to a light and turned it on.

"I'm coming in too." Marinette shouted. "Tikki spots on!" Ladybug crawled through the space and ended up in another room.

"A hidden room." Chat Noir said with a smile. "This must have been my mom's."

The room was very comfortable. There were bean bag chairs, book shelves, and random objects. The room was very colorful and interesting.

'Maybe there's something useful in here that I can use.'

Ladybug and Chat Noir searched around the small room, looking at every amazing thing. Ladybug saw a book sitting on the desk and opened it.

"This is the book." She mumbled. "This is the spell book that your mom had told me about. She used it to enter the Betweens. Maybe we can too." Ladybug said, walking over to Chat Noir.

"This can help us save your mom."

"Really? You think so? Thank you, Marinette." Chat thanked, tightly hugging Ladybug.

"We'll be able to get your mom out and maybe everyone else." Ladybug smiled.

"That's amazing. I can't believe it."

"It's a spell book. It's more useful than a library book." Ladybug looked up at Chat Noir to see his smile. "Can I borrow it? I want to start looking for spells to use."

"Sure. Anything for you. You're helping me find my mother . . . and there's no way that I could thank you enough for that."

"I'll give it back to you when I'm done."

"Keep it as long as you like. I'll be fine."

"Well . . . I should probably get going, Chat. My parents will be wanting me home soon."

"Okay. I'll just stay in here for a while." Chat said, walking over and hugging Ladybug again. "I haven't seen my mother in a long year that felt like forever and now I have a chance to seeing her again. Thank you. " Chat whispered. "Oh and make sure that my dad's assistant Natalie doesn't see you leave here. That would be an interesting story to tell."

Ladybug grabbed the spell book and walked over to the passageway. "I'll see you tomorrow at school." She said, crawling back through safe entrance. "It's a good thing that this safe can be opened from the inside and out. That would be a big problem if it didn't. Bye"

"Bye." Chat waved.

* * *

Ladybug detransformed at a building near the bakery. She went inside and waved to her parents. Her parents had a customer and she didn't want to bother them. She made her way up to her room and laid on her bed with a sigh.

"At least you found the spell book." Tikki confirmed, flying over to Marinette.

"So much information. A mystery woman who is actually Adrien's mother, a secret room, and the spell book that could save everyone. My mind is blowing up."

"You forgot the part where you and Adrien are dating now."

"Yeah." Marinette smiled happily. "I kissed Adrien and now we're dating. I can't believe-"

Marinette's phone had started to ring inside of her purse. Marinette grabbed her phone and held it up to her ear.

Marinette: "Hello."

Alya: "Hey Marinette."

Marinette: "Alya? Uh hi."

Alya: "Marinette, I have had the best day ever! You wouldn't believe it if I told you."

Marinette: "Oh yeah. What happened?"

Alya: "Well . . . have you ever heard of a kwami?"

Marinette: "What?!" Marinette shouted so loudly that Tikki covered her ears. "Alya, come over. Right now." Marinette's heart was beating faster. She was freaking out inside her head.

Alya: "Uh . . . why? Are you okay, Marinette?"

Marinette: "Yeah! I'm perfectly fine . . . it's just . . . easier to understand your excitement in person."

Alya: "Fine. I'll be over in twenty minutes."

Marinette fell back onto her bed and buried her face in her pillow.

"What does she know?" Marinette mumbled.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **How'd you like that chapter? I found out how to spell yeah. It was killing mean when I was writing it as ya. I was thinking it didn't look right, but I just googled it and now I'll spell it right. The clouds in my brain were blocking my intelligent thoughts.**

 **Marinette and Adrien are finally dating. Adrien never cared who was under the mask, but now Marinette gets to be with a flirty and different Adrien. Also, that Marinette and Alya phone conversation. Definitely gives me ideas for the next chapter.**

 **-Alice Pink**


	9. Chapter 9: The Truth

Alya dashed up the stairs to Marinette's room and ran over to her friend who was sitting on the chaise.

"I have so much to tell you, but I still don't see why I had to come over here."

"I told you. It's easier to feel your excitement in person."

"Okay." Alya said giving Marinette a confused look. "Well . . . you made me come over here, so you better listen to my whole story before you freak out."

"What? When do I freak out in the middle of your stories? I'm perfectly relaxed."

"Yeah . . . your are so calm and collected." Alya chuckled. "So, what I asked you over the phone. Have you ever heard of it? The name kwami."

"I u-uh . . . n-no. I haven't heard of it." Marinette tried not to get nervous. She knew that Alya would notice.

"Well, a kwami is a sprite-like creature that helps someone with a miraculous, transform. They're amazing little creatures that are basically immortal."

"How do you know all of t-this?" Marinette said, starting to sweat.

"Well . . . I know all of this . . . because . . . I have a kwami!" Alya squealed. "I also have a miraculous too. Isn't this amazing?! I get to help save Paris."

"Wait. You have a miraculous?! But . . . how?!"

"I don't really know how. I just found a small box in my room with a necklace inside. When I opened the box, a kwami appeared and told me that I'm now a superheroine named Volpina."

"T-This is insane. Are you sure about being Volpina? That could have all been a dream." Marinette babbled.

"I'll prove it." Alya announced, unzipping her bag. A fox kwami floated up from the bag as she pulled out a necklace. "This is my kwami, Trixx. And this is my miraculous." Alya clipped the necklace around her neck and smiled.

Marinette's eyes should have fallen out of her head by now. She was astonished by what Alya had just showed her. Marinette slipped her phone out of her purse and started to text Adrien while Alya talked.

Marinette: We kind of have a problem. May or may not be good.

Adrien: What kind of problem.

Marinette: Alya has a kwami and a miraculous!

Adrien: Really?! She has a miraculous?

Marinette: She's Volpina! The real one at least. She came over to my house and told me everything, but I don't think she knows about us.

Adrien: We'll have to tell her the truth about us now. If she's going to be helping us protect Paris, then we shouldn't be keeping secrets from her. I'm coming over right now.

"What are you doing!" Alya shouted.

"U-Uh . . . texting Adrien."

"Adrien?" Alya glared. "And why are you texting Adrien?"

"Me and him are . . . dating . . . now." Marinette squeaked as she sank down into the chaise and hid behind her knees.

"Dating?! Marinette! Finally! It took you guys forever to get together." Alya screamed, hugging Marinette. "You should have told me sooner though. But at least now you guys can double date with me and Nino."

"U-Uh yeah. Why not?"

Marinette hadn't read Adrien's last text yet because she was questioned by Alya.

'I'm coming over right now. What?! No! He can't come over. Alya can't know yet.'

Marinette: No! Don't come over! Not yet! Not now! No!

Just as Marinette sent the text, Chat Noir fell through her trap door that led to her balcony.

"Aahh!" Marinette shouted in surprise.

"No way. Chat Noir?!" Alya said, in awe.

"Now Alya, I know everything must be confusing, but we had to lie to you before." Chat started as he walked over to Marinette and pulled her up from the chaise. "Me and Marinette know that the truth is surprising, but . . . " Marinette motioned for Chat Noir to stop, but he didn't notice and kept talking. "I hope that you can forgive us for not telling you that me and Marinette are Ladybug and Chat Noir."

Marinette hit her hand against her forehead in anger as Chat Noir released his transformation, revealing to Alya that he was actually Adrien.

The three kwamis joined together in the corner of the room as they watched and laughed at their chosen ones. Tikki and Plagg hadn't met Trixx before, but they were excited to. They hadn't met very many kwamis in their lifetime.

"I can't believe it! You two were Ladybug and Chat Noir the whole time?"

"Yeah." Chat said, confused. "I thought that Marinette would have told you the truth already by the time I got here."

Marinette looked towards Alya with an apologetic look. She was trying to think of ways to apologize.

"Look, I know that I didn't tell you before Alya, bu-"

"I understand, Marinette." Alya interrupted. "I can see why you didn't tell me. I mean, I do run the Ladyblog, which I'll be shutting down soon to protect your secret. I only told you about my new miraculous because I knew that I could trust you, but you probably thought that if you told me, then I would put it on the news or something."

"I'm just glad that we don't have to keep it a secret anymore." Adrien sighed. "But . . . can I tell Nino? I'd feel bad if we all kept secrets from him."

"I was going to tell him anyway." Alya started. "I was just going to tell you guys and Nino. I don't want to keep secrets from my friends since it causes trouble. I don't know how you two have lasted this long."

"You gave me a heart attack like fifty times with your Ladyblog." Marinette laughed. "Every time you mentioned something about Ladybug's identity, I thought you had found out that it was me."

"Now that I think about it, I was really stupid for not seeing it before. You guys are a little obvious." Alya laughed. "The only characteristic that's not obvious to figure out is your personalities. It's like you have two minds in each of your heads. That's probably why I didn't predict it to be you before."

"Yeah." Adrien smiled. "I get to say what I want whenever I want, so I definitely have a different personality as Chat Noir. I have freedom to be myself without judgment."

"That sounds amazing." Alya agreed. "But . . . you two liked each other this whole time . . . and aren't dating until now? Why?"

"Well . . . we didn't know each others identities before. Adrien had just found out that I was Ladybug. It's a long story, but basically I dropped a charm bracelet that Chat Noir gave me in front of Adrien and he connected the dots. And I only found out that he was Chat Noir two days ago."

"At least now you're finally together. Marinette has been obsessing over you ever since she met you." Alya snickered. "And now we get to double date."

"Oh a date." Adrien smiled, putting his arm around Marinette. "I'd like a double date. Any date is great with Marinette."

"And I do owe you a date." Marinette said, looking up at Adrien. "Since I kind of abandoned the last one."

"Last one?" Alya said, raising an eyebrow.

"Yep. Me and her went on a date up on top of the Eiffel Tower with ice cream."

"Technically . . . " Marinette started. "You forced me to go on a date with you, but I did leave you to go see . . . you."

"What?" Alya said, confused.

"I told Chat Noir that I liked Adrien and I wanted to go see him, so Chat said I could leave the date to find him at the dance. I left but . . . I told him I'd go on another date with him."

"Oh. I guess that makes sense. How about we go on a double date tomorrow? We could see that new movie that Jagged Stone is starring in." Alya smiled.

"Uh . . . " Marinette looked at Adrien for an answer, but Adrien just smiled. "Fine. We'll go on a double date, but do you think that Nino will be okay with it."

"Of course he will be. He's my boyfriend. I'll text him right now." Alya said, looking at her phone. "Alright well . . . I have to get back home, so I'll see you guys tomorrow Ladybug and Chat Noir." Alya laughed as her kwami flew back into her bag.

Marinette and Adrien waved to Alya as she left through the trap door on Marinette's floor.

"I finally get to go on a real date with you." Adrien said, pulling Marinette closer. "We get to go on a date as ourselves and I didn't even have to force you to agree."

"Lucky me." Marinette chuckled. "Although, I'm pretty sure that Alya is forcing Nino."

"Yeah. Nino doesn't stand a chance." Adrien laughed. "I should probably get going now before my dad or his assistant realize that I've been "in the shower" for a really long time."

Adrien stepped back from Marinette. "Claws out!" Chat Noir smiled at her before climbing through her trap door and left.

Marinette slumped down on her chaise and buried her face in her pillow.

"My mind has melted, Tikki. After blowing up from earlier, it's now completely destroyed. And adding to the list we have . . . Alya knows mine and Adrien's secret, Alya's Volpina, and I'm going on a double date tomorrow."

Tikki flew over to Marinette and sat in her hands.

"Don't worry, Marinette. Tomorrow will be much better."

* * *

Marinette's day at school was boring as usual. Although, this time Chloe didn't bother her for once. Now she just had to go on that double date with Alya and Nino.

Marinette sat in a chair up on her balcony, looking at the spell book. She was waiting for Adrien or Chat Noir to come and get her.

Marinette looked up from the book to see Chat Noir drop in front of her.

"Are you ready to go My Lady?" Chat Noir said, bowing.

"Yep. Just looking at all of the spells."

"Did you learn any of them?"

"Yeah, watch." Marinette closed her eyes and put her hand out. "Die Blumen und die Sonne leben!" As Marinette chanted, a flower rose from a pot on the balcony. "Well, if I'm ever sad, I can grow a flower."

"Cool." Chat awed. "Do a spell on me." Chat pointed to the book, bouncing.

"Fine." Marinette flipped through the pages of the book and held her hand out again. "Der Wind weht durch deine Seele!"

"Wh-What d-did you d-do to me? I-I am fr-freezing!"

"I know." Marinette smiled. "You did tell me to cast a spell on you, so I did."

Chat glared at Marinette. "U-Undo it!"

"Ugh fine. Rückgängig alte Wünsche!"

"Thank you." Chat said with a sigh of relief. "You had to learn a spell that will make me freeze. Why is your heart so cold Marinette?"

Marinette rolled her eyes at Chat. "Wow more jokes. I should have froze you in ice."

"I have a better idea. Let's go on our date."

"Okay." Marinette said, quickly jumping through her trap door.

She set the spell book on her bed and transformed into Ladybug. She stepped through her trap door again and leaped off the edge of the building. Chat Noir followed her and they swung through the city to the movie theater. They both hid behind a bush and detransformed into their normal selves.

"Shall we?" Adrien said holding out his hand.

"Let's go." Marinette smiled, taking Adrien's hand.

They both saw Alya and Nino waiting for them outside the door and waved.

"Hey Guys." Adrien said, waving.

They all walked away from the door so no one could here them.

"I can't believe that you guys are superheroes." Nino said in amazement. "I would have never guessed. Adrien was texting me last night when he told me."

"Are you mad?" Marinette asked.

"No. It all makes sense now. That's why you two would always leave class instantly when something went wrong. I just thought that Marinette was following Adrien out because she has a crush on him."

"Did everyone know Marinette had a crush on me, but me?" Adrien questioned.

"Pretty much." Alya and Nino spoke at the same time, laughing.

"Well then I'm glad Marinette told me because I would have never guessed."

"I'm gonna try to keep secrets better next time." Marinette said, crossing her arms.

"Yeah, yeah. We're all clueless idiots. Now let's go see the movie." Alya said, pushing everyone through the door.

They all found the right room and sat in the first row. The movie was just starting as they sat down. At the start of the movie, Jagged Stone appeared on the screen, playing his guitar.

Adrien reached over and took Marinette's hand. She smiled back at him before they both stared at the huge TV screen.

* * *

"That movie was awful." Alya said, as they walked out of the theater. "Jagged Stone should stick to music."

"Yeah. He's a much better mus-"

Marinette was stopped by a sudden scream outside. They all ran to one of the theater windows and saw an akumatized villain terrorizing Paris.

"We have to go." Marinette finished.

Adrien and Alya nodded their heads in agreement as all four of the friends split up into the bathrooms.

Nino had followed Adrien and stared at him in amazement as he transformed into Chat Noir.

"That . . . is . . . amazing." Nino awed.

"I know." Adrien smiled.

Alya and Marinette called to their kwamis from the other bathroom and transformed.

"Wow. My first mission." Alya said, looking at her suit and tail.

"It's sort of like a mission. A mission to save Paris." Marinette started. "I never thought that me and you would be fighting crime together. Actually I never thought you'd ever find out . . . but . . . let's go save Paris."

They met up with Chat Noir as they exited the building. They listened for danger. All of the screams had stopped, as if the people couldn't speak. Paris had been silenced.

The villain floated over to the theater. She was an older lady with a black and white outfit and white hair. Her hair stood in a bun and she carried a big dictionary in her arms.

"Silencer, there's Ladybug and Chat Noir. Take their miraculouses now!" Hawk Moth shouted.

"You two! If you want to keep your voices, hand over your miraculouses!" Silencer screamed. "If you don't I'll take them and you can join the rest of Paris. They talk and talk forever and never stop, but now they will."

"Hey Silencpurr! Have you ever heard of headphones? They can be useful."

"Shut it, Chat Noir! Give me your miraculouses now! You and Ladybug and yo-! Wait! Who are you?"

"I'm Volpina." Alya smiled.

"Hawk Moth didn't say anything about you." She thought, aloud. "Oh well. I'll have to take all of your miraculouses."

"Chat Noir, Volpina!" Ladybug whispered to her partners. "She looks like that librarian at the city's library. And I think the akuma is in her book. She uses the book to capture everyone's voices and she never lets it go."

"Okay. Now let's see what I can do." Volpina said, running towards Silencer.

Volpina pulled out her flute and lunged at her. Silencer quickly opened her book and stole Volpina's voice in a matter of seconds. Volpina borrowed a piece of paper and a pencil from a bystander and wrote a message:

"Sorry. I'll follow you guys on this one."

Volpina gave them an apologetic smile as Ladybug and Chat Noir looked at each other.

"I guess it's up to us." Chat said, spinning his baton.

"She's too fast. If we try to attack her, she'll steal our voices before we can do anything." Ladybug said, watching Silencer.

"We need to slow her down."

"Lucky Charm!" Ladybug shouted, throwing her yo-yo into the air. "A top hat? What am I gonna do with this?" Ladybug looked from Volpina's flute, to Silencer, and then Chat Noir's hand. "I have an idea." Ladybug smiled. "Volpina, flute and Chat Noir, book." Ladybug whispered.

Volpina gave Ladybug a thumbs up and played her flute. She blasted the music towards Silencer and slowed her down. Volpina's power is to slow down or completely stop villains, but the stronger they are, the harder it is to stop them. Silencer was powerful and could only be slowed down.

Ladybug launched herself above Silencer and pulled the top hat down over her face so she couldn't see.

Chat Noir immediately shouted "Cataclysm!" and touched Silencer's dictionary.

The dictionary broke apart and the akuma flew out as Ladybug grabbed her yo-yo.

"No more evil doing for you little akuma." Ladybug dropped her yo-yo. "Time to deevilize!" She spun her yo-yo around in circles. "Gotcha. Bye-Bye little butterfly. Miraculous Ladybug!" Ladybug shouted.

The citizen's voices were restored back into their bodies and that cheered in happiness. They had realized that the duo had become a trio and that they had another hero to help protect Paris.

"Ah . . ." Alya sighed. "It's good to have my voice back."

"Citizens of Paris." Ladybug shouted from the top of a building. "Paris has a new superheroine named Volpina. The three of us will continue to protect you and all of Paris."

The citizens started to cheer again as Ladybug turned to her partners.

"We should get going." Chat said pointing to Ladybug's earrings. "Your earrings are blinking and so is my ring.

"Yeah. And your necklace is blinking, Volpina."

"Oh . . . yeah. Let's get going." Volpina said as she flew off of the building.

Ladybug and Chat Noir jumped off of the building and followed her to the corner of a nearby building. They all detransformed into their normal selves.

"I'm really sorry that I was stupid at the beginning of the attack." Alya said, apologetically.

"Don't worry about it Alya. I was worse. When I first became Ladybug I had tried to quit and give it to you instead . . . but I transformed again to save you . . . and Chat Noir cheered me up. So . . . luckily I'm still Ladybug. And you can't do worse than I did the first time."

"Wait! You tried to quit?! I almost lost my partner? My favorite person to see everyday!"

"Wait!" Alya cut in. "You tried to give up your miraculous to me?! Why would you even think you shouldn't be ladybug and why me?"

"Well . . . I thought that I was too clumsy to be Ladybug and you were so confident that I . . . was really stupid."

"No kidding. You can pretty unintelligent sometimes. Like giving up a miraculous." Alya laughed.

"Yeah, yeah." Marinette smiled. "I have to go home now. I'll see you guys tomorrow."

Marinette waved bye to Alya and Adrien and walked back to the bakery.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Tell me what you think about that chapter. It felt really short to me, but apparently it was my longest chapter. I hope you enjoy reading it.**

 **-Alice Pink**


	10. Chapter 10:Spells

**The Next Day After School:**

Marinette was sitting on her bed reading the spell book once again. She had almost finished looking through every page of the book, but still hadn't found anything that could help her. Tikki sat on Marinette's shoulder and helped in the search for the right spell.

"What if there isn't a spell, Tikki? We might be wasting our time searching through this book if there is nothing." Marinette stated, laying her chin on the book.

"Even if we don't find anything now, we'll keep looking. You can't give up. There's always a ways out of a situation and you'll find it." Tikki preached.

"I hope you're right, Tikki."

"Hello. Marinette?" Alya called, stepping through the trap door.

"Up here." Marinette waved down to Alya.

Marinette picked up the book and walked down the stairs.

"I heard about some spell book that you have and came over to check it out."

Marinette held out the spell book to Alya.

"This is the spell book, but . . . I haven't found anything that will help me get back to the Betweens."

"Well I'm here now to help you and maybe I'll even be some extra luck in your search."

"Maybe, but I've almost finished looking through the book." Marinette said, opening the book back up.

"You might have looked over something, Marinette. Try looking for a different kind of spell instead of one that's just going to take you somewhere." Alya advised.

"Well here."

Marinette handed Alya the spell book and she flipped through the pages. Alya looked through the book for five minutes before stopping at a page.

"I think I found something useful."

"What?!" Marinette shouted, looking over Alya's shoulder. "What did you find?"

"A secrets spell. It will tell us anything. Look." Alya pointed to a page in the book. "If you cast this spell on someone, they'll tell you the answers to anything. It's better than a truth spell since the person you cast it on will know all secrets about the universe."

"Thanks Alya!" Marinette hugged Alya excitedly. "But . . . who am I going to cast the spell on?"

"You can cast it on me. I said I'd help you." Alya smiled, giving Marinette the book.

"Are you sure Alya? I haven't cast it before. What if I say it wrong?"

"You and I will both be fine." Alya rested her hands on Marinette's shoulders. "Just cast it already."

Alya sat on Marinette's chaise and waited.

"Alright." Marinette walked in front of Alya, closed her eyes and chanted. "Revealer aller Geheimnisse kommen heraus und bekennen!"

Alya's eyes turned to a gold and she seemed to be glowing.

"What must I confess?" The deep voice emerged from Alya quietly. "What answers do you seek?"

Marinette's eyes widened as she stared at her friend in surprise. The deep voice that was now inside Alya was creeping out to her.

"Oh . . . um . . . " Marinette scratched her head and thought of what to say. "Do you know about the Betweens?"

"Of course I know the Betweens." The voice laughed. "I know everything."

"Yeah. That was a stupid question." Marinette mumbled. "So . . . Is there . . . any way . . . to get into the Betweens?"

"Yes."

"Is there an answer in this spell book?"

"Yes."

"Well where?! I've looked through almost every page." Marinette whined.

"Have you really looked?" The voice said, making Alya's face smile. "Secrets are everywhere and they're not always in plain sight. You must pay close attention."

"What do you mean?" Marinette asked, glaring at "Alya's" smile.

"The answer is there, but not there."

"What does that mean?"

"Look."

"What page is it?"

"Page 136. But you must search for it."

Marinette frantically searched for the right page.

"I found it . . . but . . . this a page full of food spells . . . where is the answer?" Marinette looked up at "Alya" confused.

"Must people like you summon me like this. Open your eyes and you'll find any answer. You don't need me unless you've given up. My life is a confession. A confession that never ends as I tell all that I'm asked. I know everyone and everything in existence. I know what you are looking for and I must say that you are brave and persistent." The voice said soothingly.

"You are wrong there. I have not given up." Marinette boasted, standing up straight. "I continue searching for answers until I have found one. You are a useful short cut."

"I guess I'll always be some sort of short cut to people."

"Confession . . . people shouldn't abuse your power, but you can be useful when in need of help. Everyone should appreciate you more."

"Marinette . . . " The voice made "Alya's" grin rise. "Do you need a light to help you read?"

"What? No. It's bright enough in here."

"I mean a different light." The voice laughed. "One that will actually help you see. Page 12 paragraph 5 for a thought spell. The spell will give you whatever you're thinking, but if you put your hand on my head then you'll get what I want."

"I don't need a light." Marinette announced.

"Light for an answer."

"Fine. I'll get a light but only for the answer that I'm looking for."

Marinette found the spell and put her right hand on "Alya's" head.

"Erscheinen, was ich für mein gutes denke und wünsche!"

An ultraviolet flashlight appeared in Marinette's lap. She removed her hands from "Alya's" head and grabbed the flashlight.

"An ultraviolet light?" Marinette held it up and focused on it. "Why would I-" Marinette stared at "Alya". "Oh. A UV light! Brilliant! You were trying to tell me that if I use this light then . . . I'll uncover this book's secrets. This book is filled with twice as many spells as I thought."

Marinette shone the light onto page 136 and awed.

"You were right. 136 has the answer . . . and now . . . I'll be able to save everyone. Thank you Confession." Marinette hugged "Alya" in excitement.

"You're welcome Marinette and remember not to give up." The voice made Alya smile again. "You don't always need a short cut."

"I'll try my best." Marinette smiled. "Rückgängig alte Wünsche."

With that, Alya's eyes changed back to hazel as she sighed.

"That . . . was . . . awesome!" Alya shouted. "It was like something was talking through me . . . but I could still hear and understand everything. That confession guy was so cool."

"Thanks Alya!" Marinette squealed, hugging Alya. "I found a solution and I found out that there are hidden secrets in this book. And I can unlock those secrets with an ultraviolet light."

"Glad I could help." Alya pried Marinette's arms from her. "See I told you to cast the spell. If I hadn't been persistent then you wouldn't have found anything. You shouldn't have doubted yourself so much."

"I know." Marinette smiled. "And I'll tell Adrien tomorrow before school."

"Yeah. He'll definitely want to know." Alya said, walking over to the trap door and stepped through. "I have to go now, Marinette. And now that you have your answer, you can obsess about it to Adrien."

"I have to obsess about it in my head first, but bye. I'll see you tomorrow."

Tikki woke up from a pillow on Marinette's bed and flew down to her.

"Did you hear any of that, Tikki?"

"Yeah. I heard most of it and I'm excited that you've found something."

"This is fantastic. Everything is going great and I'm going to tell Adrien as soon as I go to school tomorrow."

* * *

The alarm rang for the third time as Marinette sprung up out of bed. She spooked Tikki as she screamed in realization that she was late. She frantically got dressed and grabbed her stuff.

 **The Day Before:**

Marinette: I have something important to tell you.

Adrien: What is it?

Marinette: A surprise. I'll tell you tomorrow before school. I'll try to be outside of the school fifteen minutes early.

Adrien: Okay. See you then. Can't wait.

 **Back To The Next Morning:**

"Tikki hurry! Get into my purse." Marinette freaked. "I promised Adrien that I'd meet him fifteen minutes before school started and that would have been five minutes ago."

"Everything will be fine." Tikki assured. "Adrien probably won't care that you're late. Everyone knows that you're always late and forgetful."

Marinette grabbed the spell book and sprinted out of the bakery. She ran across the street to the school and was stopped by Adrien on the sidewalk.

"Woah. Slow down." Adrien said, stopping the out of breath Marinette.

"I-uh . . . sorry I'm late." Marinette panted.

"I kind of figured that you'd be late, but don't worry. We still have ten minutes left." Adrien smiled. "So what surprise did you have to tell me?"

"Guess what I found . . . a spell that will get us into the Betweens!" Marinette shouted. "We use our miraculouses to open a portal that will take us there." Marinette showed Adrien the page in her spell book and shone her UV flashlight on it.

"This is amazing, Marinette." Adrien smiled, spinning Marinette around.

"We just need to press a button in the fountain there. The button wasn't accessible before when I was there, but when we enter the Betweens through the portal, we are breaking down the walls and security. The button will appear on top of the fountain when we enter."

"Will it be easy to get to?"

"I think so and when we press the button, everyone in the entire Betweens will be set free. They'll all be transported back to where they were in the real world while we'll still be in there until we get transported out."

"And what about my mom?" Adrien asked, concerned.

"We'll have to find her. She's the only person not in a separate world." Marinette saw as Adrien's face changed to a worried look. "We'll get her out. Since we're basically breaking the Betweens, she'll be able to teleport out without a miraculous."

"That's good."

Marinette hugged Adrien as Alya took a picture from behind them. Marinette had jumped when she heard the flash of Alya's phone.

"Alya! Did you just take a photo of us?" Marinette let go of Adrien and ran to Alya and looked over her shoulder at her phone.

"Maybe." Alya smiled. "At least now I have a picture of you two as a couple."

"Good. Spread the word." Adrien said, wrapping his arm around Marinette.

"I will." Alya put away her phone and looked at them. "So Marinette . . . did you tell him about the spell?"

"Yeah . . . but . . . I kind of found a problem with the spell that I . . . didn't tell you two about yet." Marinette's voice got quieter.

"What kind of problem?" Alya said, raising an eyebrow.

"The spell requires four miraculouses."

"What?!" Adrien and Alya both shouted.

"I saw it written on the page when I was getting ready this morning. Look." Marinette held her flashlight up to the open book again to reveal what it said.

"There must be another way." Adrien whined.

"Nope. I've checked. There isn't any other way."

Marinette looked to Alya and noticed that she was staring at something.

"What is it Alya?" Marinette asked.

"There is some old guy staring at us from over there."

Marinette turned around to see Master Fu looking at them from a lamp post.

"Master Fu!" Marinette called as her and Adrien ran over to him.

"Master who?" Alya questioned before following them.

"Alya, this is Master Fu." Marinette said.

"Oh yeah." Alya said in realization. "I remember you. I was at the library to update the Ladyblog and I had handed you a book that you couldn't reach on a high shelf."

"That's how you met him? I just helped him up off the ground when he fell in front of the school." Adrien announced.

"I helped him cross the street on the first day of school . . . but Alya, Master Fu is the one who gave us our miraculouses."

"Oh . . . why did you give me a miraculous for helping you get a library book?" Alya asked, confused.

"Not many people will stop to help an old man like you three did." Mater Fu smiled. "So Marinette, how is your search going for the Betweens?"

"I found a spell to get us there." Marinette smiled, excitedly. "The only problem is that it requires four miraculouses. Will you use your miraculous to help us?"

"Well . . . " Master Fu started. "I don't know. I'm 187 years old now and I'm not as young as I use to be. But . . . it may be time for me to hand down my miraculous."

"Are you sure?" Adrien began. "Who will you give it too?"

"Oh!" Alya shouted. "You could give it to Nino, Master Fu. Then we wouldn't have to leave him alone all of the time to fight."

"Alya. Master Fu has to pick the miraculous holders." Marinette said, glaring at Alya.

"Now Marinette, she might have a point." Mater Fu said, holding up a hand. "Each of you earned your miraculouses differently, but you were all friends before. I'm sure that another one of your friends would be just as kind hearted as you guys. I might have to consider it."

"Really." The three said in shock.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **I hope you like this chapter. When I was writing this it, I was thinking of the Doctor Who episode The Widow and the Wardrobe. It seemed cool when I had thought about it. Thank you all so much for the reviews. They're all so nice and helpful. Tell me what you thought about this chapter.**

 **-Alice Pink**


	11. Chapter 11: Baking Cookies

**Two Days Later (Saturday):**

Adrien crossed the street to the Dupain-cheng bakery. He could see Marinette standing inside at the counter, handing a woman a box of cupcakes. He opened the door and waved to Marinette.

"Hey Marinette." Adrien smiled.

"Hi." Marinette smiled back.

"How's it going here?"

"Busy. My parents are catering for a party tomorrow and we're only half done baking everything. I'll be caked in flour all day." Marinette said, handing Adrien a chocolate chip cookie.

"Thanks for the cookie, but . . . I could stay and help." Adrien took a bite of his cookie.

"I don't know. Have you ever baked anything before?" Marinette said, crossing her arms, and smirking.

"Uh . . . " Adrien scratched the back of his head. "No. I've never actually cooked anything in . . . my life, but . . . you can teach me. You're a good baker and probably an even better teacher."

"Uh huh." She said, looking into his sparkling eyes as if being hypnotized. "Fine. There's an apron hanging on the wall over there."

Adrien's face lit up as he grabbed the apron and sprinted back over to Marinette with it wrapped around him.

"So, what are we making?" Adrien said, rubbing his hands together in excitement.

"We're baking chocolate chip cookies. My parents already made the muffins and brownies yesterday, so we just have cookies left to bake."

"Good, I cookies. Especially the ones that your family makes."

"You do realize that cooking can be messy, right? You don't have any experience in . . . well . . . a kitchen, but are you sure you'll be okay with getting flour in your model blonde hair?" Marinette laughed.

"It couldn't make me look worse. The flour all over you is making you look adorable, so I don't see how it can affect me badly."

Marinette rolled her eyes at him and pulled out a recipe from her pocket.

"I thought you were an expert." Adrien smirked.

"I never said that and I usually can remember most of the ingredients, but I can be forgetful too and I want make sure that everything is perfect."

"You mean purrfect." He grinned.

Adrien leaned closer to Marinette as she pushed his head away.

"Less puns. More cooking. I thought I was baking with Adrien, not Chat Noir."

"I can be both." Adrien said, crossing his arms. "And my puns are hilarious."

"What ever." Marinette smiled. She decided to let him win the argument of whether his puns were helpful and funny.

Adrien handed Marinette ingredients as she mixed them together in a bowl. He couldn't help but smile as he watched her make the cookie dough. He helped her form the cookie dough into little balls and place them all over the cookie sheets.

They soon finished placing the cookie dough on every sheet and now needed to clean up. Marinette grabbed the bag of flour that she used off of the counter and started for the pantry, but fell from the shaking of the ground. Adrien fell to the ground too from the rumbling of the bakery. Marinette was now covered head to toe with flour.

"What was that?" Adrien said, standing up.

"It was like an earthquake." Marinette added.

Adrien turned towards Marinette and couldn't help but laugh. "You're . . . uh . . . you have some flour . . . everywhere." He chuckled.

"Don't . . . say . . . another . . . word." Marinette glared at Adrien. "It's not my fault-"

They were interrupted by huge vines sprouting up from the bakery floors. They spread across the whole building, shaking it even more. They covered up the kitchen door and barricaded them in.

Adrien and Marinette immediately knew it was an akuma attack and nodded their heads at each other.

"Plagg! Claws Out!"

"Tikki! Spots On!"

They both transformed and tried to remove the vines from the door, but had no luck.

"Cataclysm!" Chat shouted, placing his hand on the main vine blocking the door.

They both managed to kick open the kitchen door, but soon realized that the vines had swarmed the entire bakery.

"We're trapped in here." Chat announced, trying to look through the vine covered windows.

"I'll phone Volpina." Ladybug said, pulling out her yo-yo.

Volpina blew her flute and the ball of light and energy that formed at the end of it showed Ladybug's face. She turned her flute up right to answer the call.

Ladybug: Volpina, we need your help.

Volpina: Ladybug. Where are you? Is Chat Noir with you?

Ladybug: I'm trapped in my parents bakery with Chat Noir.

Volpina: Trapped?

Ladybug: Vines have covered the entire bakery. Me and Chat are in the lower half while my parents are still upstairs. Once you rescue us, I'll check on my parents, but hurry.

Volpina: I'll be right over.

Chat looked at the vines that encompassed the bakery. "I'm guessing that it's a plant themed akumatization."

"Yeah." Ladybug agreed. "Probably a florist or botanist."

Ladybug walked back into the kitchen and started putting the cookies in the ovens.

Chat Noir stared at Ladybug in confusion. "Won't the cookies be ruined by all of the shaking from the attack?" Chat asked, pointing to an open oven.

"I'm hoping that they'll get fixed when I fix all of Paris's damage. If they don't bake now, then I'll have more work to do when I get back."

Chat started to pick up some of the sheets and load them into the ovens. When they were finished, they heard a loud pounding coming from the front of the bakery. They both peered their heads around the corner of the kitchen to see police officers outside trying to break in. Some of them held blow torches that had been used to crumble a few of the vines while three others held a battering ram. They shoved the battering ram against the door and tried to get in, but had no luck.

Suddenly, Volpina flew down to the entrance and thanked the officers for their help. The police cleared and Volpina used her super strength to push the doors to the ground.

"Volpina!" Ladybug said as her and Chat Noir ran over.

"Sorry it took so long. I saw a family shouting for help from a second story building, so I asked the police for assistance in getting you guys out." Volpina apologized. "I rescued the family and got here as fast as I could."

"It's fine. We're free now." Chat said, walking to the big hole in the bakery where the doors used to be.

"You guys go find the akumatized villain." Ladybug started. "I'll meet up with you guys after I check on my parents."

Volpina and Chat Noir exited the bakery as Ladybug ran outside and swung up to the next floor. She hoped through an open window, which wasn't completely covered in vines, and saw her parents sitting on the couch. They got up and filled joy to see the super heroine.

"Ladybug." Sabine cried. "We're trapped up here and our daughter . . . is still down stairs!"

"Don't worry mo-Mr. and Mrs. Dupain-cheng." Ladybug quickly corrected herself. "I took your daughter somewhere safe. She told me that she just put some cookies in the ovens down stairs. She might not be back in time to take them out when everything is back to normal though."

"Thank you Ladybug. We'll take care of the cookies when the vines have cleared." Tom thanked.

"I have to go fight the akuma, so stay away from the windows and doors for now."

Ladybug swung back out and met up with Volpina and Chat Noir by the Pont Des Arts.

"M-My parents are fine." Ladybug stuttered out of breath. "How's the akuma?"

Chat Noir pointed towards a red haired girl with a light and dark green dress. She wore brown glasses with a forest green headband and she had her hair in a side bun. She stood on top of a huge green vine that carried her throughout the city.

"While you were gone, I gave my kwami some food, so I can use my cataclysm again."

"I think the akuma's in her headband. It says go green and she obviously loves plants." Alya said, staring at the green girl.

"Good eye. Lets-" Ladybug started, but was interrupted by the villain.

"You three!" The villain shouted, as her vine grew over to them and carried her. "Don't you even think you're going to mess with my plants! I am Gardenia and Paris is my new garden."

"Why are you doing this?" Volpina asked, stepping closer to the villain.

"You and all of these Parisians . . . they litter everywhere! Especially in the flowers at my house. Then I had realized that people mistreat all of Paris's plants. No one cares about harming them! They just want to get rid of their garbage and now that I have this power . . . so no one will mistreat them ever again. The plants will overpower the humans and Paris will be filled with everlasting green." Gardenia laughed.

"You can't just take over Paris." Ladybug stated. "You've clearly made your point about how the environment is, so I think everyone has learned their lesson."

"I can't stop now. A small garden is a sad garden. It must grow and never stop."

Gardenia blasted vines towards them, trying to pin them to the ground. The vines with many flowers emerged from the bridge and lunged towards the heroes. Vines successfully pulled Chat Noir to the ground and covered him like a net.

"You must stop." Chat protested. "Paris doesn't just belong to you, it belongs to everyone and we will bring it back to what it used to be."

"I'd like to see you try." Gardenia laughed.

"Cataclysm!" Chat shouted, placing his right hand on the vines that surrounded him.

The vines crippled and Chat Noir broke free.

"Lucky Charm!" Ladybug screamed, throwing her yo-yo up into the air. "A giant magnifying glass?" Ladybug looked from Volpina to Gardenia's traveling vine. "Volpina!" She called. "Slow her down in twenty seconds." Volpina nodded as Ladybug sprinted towards Gardenia, using her yo-yo to launch herself into the air.

She held the magnifying glass over the vine and the sunlight burnt it. Gardenia dropped from the sky as Volpina played her flute. The music slowed Gardenia down while she fell. Ladybug jumped off of the remaining end of the vine and pulled Gardenia's head band off of her head. She wrapped her yo-yo around the vine's end so that she wouldn't fall and Chat Noir ran over to catch Gardenia as the music wared off.

Ladybug snapped the head band in half to set the evil butterfly free.

"No more evil doing for little akuma." Ladybug started. "Time to deevilize!" She caught the butterfly and let it fly away. "Bye bye little butterfly. Miraculous ladybug!"

The never ending green of Paris disappeared with flashes of ladybugs. Gardenia was returned back to her normal self with no memory of what had happened.

The three heroes were about to disperse when Nino came running towards them.

"Nino? What are doing here?" Volpina asked, confused.

"I got a miraculous!"

"You did?" Ladybug and Chat Noir both said.

"Yeah. This guy came to my house and said that you guys suggested I'd be a great addition to your team." Nino said, excitedly.

"That's different. Master Fu usually doesn't give out miraculouses in person. He's all about mystery and confusion." Ladybug noted.

"I'm sorry I didn't help you with this attack. I was kind of annoying my kwami with a thousand questions about my miraculous and was trying to figure everything out."

"This is perfect!" Chat Noir screamed with joy. "Now that you have a miraculous, we can cast the spell to the Betweens. We can finally get my mom back!"

"Amazing!" Ladybug shrieked. "We can do it tomorrow!" Ladybug jumped up and hugged Chat Noir.

Volpina moved over to Nino and looked at his confused expression.

"What are they talking about?" Nino asked, pointing at them.

"I'll explain it to you later . . . but now that you have a miraculous . . . you can help us with something important."

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Hope you liked this chapter. I had heard that for season 2, Adrien was going to learn how to bake cookies, so I made a short version of it. I also love plant based heroes or villains, so I already had ideas for that. More to come with this story. Enjoy!**

 **-Alice Pink**


	12. Chapter 12: Portal to the Reset Button

Ladybug laid next to Chat Noir on top of the Agreste mansion. They rested there, looking up at the shining blue sky, watching the clouds go by.

"That one looks like a bunny."

"No it doesn't." Chat Noir replied. "It's obviously a snowman. Don't you see the top hat and the carrot nose?"

"No, but you see what ever you want. Now look at that one." Ladybug said, pointing to the sky. "That one kind of looks like you."

"Are you kidding me? That doesn't look anything like me."

Ladybug's eyes protested as she picked up the spell book that sat next to her and flipped through the pages.

"Erscheinen, was ich für mein gutes denke und wünsche!" She chanted.

Chat Noir's face slowly appeared on the clouds above.

"You were saying." Ladybug smirked.

"Tha-That's cheating. You are the worst at watching clouds."

"Pff! Whatever. That was a spell to give me what I wish for so . . . you should take it as a compliment that I put your face up in the clouds."

"Let me see that!" Chat shouted, grabbing the book.

"Wait! What are yo-"

"Erscheinen, was ich für mein gutes denke und wünsche!"

Ladybug stared up at the clouds as a message appeared in them.

"I love you, Marinette. You are absolutely purrfect." Ladybug read aloud. "You put a pun up in the sky with the words I love you? You're crazy." Ladybug laughed, sitting up.

"But you love me too." Chat smiled, leaning closer.

"That's true." Ladybug smiled, looking down at the street below and saw a transformed Alya and Nino approaching the mansion. "Hey look. They're here."

"Good. Time to enter the Betweens." Chat Noir bounced up and grabbed Ladybug's hand, helping her up.

"Now we don't have to sit here bored, staring at clouds."

Ladybug and Chat Noir jumped down to the front entrance and led Volpina and Nino inside.

"Isn't your dad gonna wonder where you are?" Nino asked.

"He has another meeting today and I told Natalie that I needed to stay up in my room and focus on homework."

They all walked over to the family portrait as Adrien pulled up a chair. He opened up the picture and entered the code to the safe.

"Cool." Volpina awed at the safe. "I wish I had a hidden safe then led to a hidden room."

They all crawled into the room and closed the safe so no one could come in.

"Okay . . . so according to the spell book, we have to join hands while I say this spell and then the portal with appear in the floor." Ladybug announced, staring at the spell book.

"Let's do it." Chat smiled, walking to the center of the room.

Volpina and Nino joined hands with him as Ladybug soon came over. They all closed their eyes as Ladybug started to cast the spell.

"Brechen Sie durch die Türen der Betweens und bringen Sie uns einen Transportweg!"

Air swirled around in the room as the portal appeared on the floor in the middle of the circle they created. They let go of each other and stared at the black sparkling portal that started to appear in the floor.

"So that's the portal to the Betweens?" Alya asked.

"Yep." Ladybug said, tying a rope around a pillar in the room.

"What are you doing?" Chat asked, perplexed.

"Well I was thinking . . . since the transporters at the fountain will send us back to where we were, your mom won't stay with us." Ladybug announced, looking up at her friends. "She'll be sent back to where she was, where ever that is. So instead of being separated, we can just take her back through the portal."

"And the rope?"

"If this rope is going through the portal, then it won't close." She said, tying the other end around her waist.

"So we just . . . jump in?" Nino asked, staring at the black opening in the floor.

"Yeah, but make it fun. We are visiting a fictional place and most people don't even get to do that once." Ladybug joked.

"But . . . where will we land there? What exactly will happen?"

"Oh Nino! Just jump through." Ladybug shouted. She turned around and smiled at Chat Noir. "Have fun." She saluted them before backing away from the portal and running forward towards it. "Geronimo!" She screamed as she leaped through the opening.

Chat Noir and Volpina stared at each other for a moment.

"Don't look at me." Alya laughed. "You should have known that she was this quirky before you started dating her." Alya hoped in the portal, leaving Nino and Chat Noir.

Chat Noir shrugged his shoulders at Nino before entering the portal.

"Sure . . . a mysterious portal that leads to a make believe place and could possibly take us somewhere where we'll die." Nino spoke to himself. "Why not?"

Nino stepped into the portal and found himself with the others.

"Good. You're finally here, Nino." Volpina said, helping him up.

Ladybug untied the rope from her waist and tied it around a concrete pillar in the Betweens. They all grabbed onto a bookshelf as the entire Betweens rumbled like an earthquake. A few books fell to the ground as everything shook.

"What . . . was that?" Volpina panted, after releasing her grip from a shelf.

"We just broke all of the locks and security stuff in the Betweens." Ladybug replied.

"I didn't think that we would cause an earthquake." Volpina said.

"Where are we?" Chat asked, picking up a few books that fell.

"We're in the library." Ladybug said, looking amongst the bookshelves. "The fountain is at the other side of the Betweens. We should probably look for your mother first."

"Where? This place is huge. Where do we even start?" Chat questioned, looking up at the high ceiling.

"We should look in the bedrooms. She had told me before that she only goes to the bedrooms and the library. The bedrooms are upstairs." She said, pointing towards a staircase in the corner of the room.

"Let's go." Chat excitedly grabbed Ladybug's wrist and pulled her along as Volpina and Nino followed.

They moved up the staircase to the top floor and peered down the long hallway of rooms.

"How about we check each room and leave the door open if it's been checked." Alya said, moving ahead.

"We should probably detransform though or else she won't recognize me and Adrien. And so that she can meet you guys." Ladybug said, detransforming back to Marinette.

Each of them detransformed and wandered through the hallways and rooms. Every room was set up like a hotel with a room number.

Ladybug stepped into one of the rooms and noticed that it resembled hers. It was filled with pink and even had the same chaise as hers. Adrien followed her in and looked around.

"Wow. This looks a lot like your room."

"Yeah. The Betweens is supposed to be the perfect place, so it should be comfortable. And what's more comfortable to me than my room?" Marinette picked up a picture frame that was sitting on a dresser and showed it to Adrien. "Look a picture of you."

"Of course." Adrien laughed. "Even this place knows you are obsessed with me."

"Ha ha. Very funny." Marinette glared, before exiting the room.

They each checked multiple rooms and saw that everyone was different.

Marinette then stopped at a door and leaned against it. She listened inside.

"Hey Adrien." Marinette waved for Adrien to come over. "I hear something inside."

Adrien burst through the door and realized that it resembled a much more colorful version of his father's room. The TV was turned on and a purse laid on the bed.

Suddenly, the TV started blaring really loud. Adrien's mom rushed into the room and quickly turned the TV's volume down. Adrien stood there, frozen. He didn't know what to say or do. He couldn't react. Adrien's mother looked up at him and stared in disbelief.

"Adrien." She cried. "Is it really you?"

Adrien nodded his head and was immediately embraced in a hug. Mrs. Agreste cried into him shoulder.

"I missed you so much."

"Me too. That's why we came as soon as we could after Marinette found a spell."

Mrs. Agreste looked up at Marinette and smiled.

"Thank you." She whispered.

After releasing Adrien from the hug, she ran over to Marinette and thanked her with a short hug, and took Marinette by surprise.

"Okay. My turn to thank her. She's my girlfriend." Adrien grinned, wrapping his arms around Marinette. "Thank you." He whispered into her ear.

"Girlfriend? Well as your mother . . . I approve." Mrs. Agreste smiled. "I can't believe that after being in here for six months, I finally can leave."

"Actually a year. Time moves twice as fast outside of here." Marinette corrected.

"Well, I had my doubts about you, Marinette, but I knew you'd figure out what I told you when you were here before. Once I knew that you knew Adrien, I told you the combination to my room so you could find the spell book."

"Wait. How did you know that she knew me?" Adrien asked, confused.

"I heard the doors talking to her about you and her-"

Marinette could feel her face getting hot as she felt embarrassed. "Okay." Marinette interrupted. "Let's get everyone out of here. We need to press the reset button."

The three walked out of the room and met up with Alya and Nino, who were awkwardly standing there, watching. They all headed downstairs and ventured to the other side of the Betweens towards the fountain. They passed the whispering doors that continued to speak. The securities may have been broken, but the worlds can still be entered.

* * *

"We just have to press that button." Marinette said, pointing ahead. "Once we press it, it will set everyone free."

"What exactly will happen to everyone?" Nino questioned.

"Their souls with be restored in their bodies." Ladybug started. "And if their bodies have already disappeared, then they'll appear back where they use to be."

"Well let's do it. Let's save them." Adrien said, running towards the fountain.

He slipped through the nonsecure barrier with ease and jumped up to press the button at the top of the fountain. He pressed the button and the Betweens vigorously shook once again. The button turned green as Adrien smiled at what he'd done, realizing that everything was okay.

Colorful flashing lights swam around the high ceiling. They were the people's souls breaking free and leaving happily. The air moved, creating a breeze as they all escaped. They sounded as if they were laughing like little children.

"Wow." Alya said in amazement. "This is so cool and they're so happy."

"They're free." Mrs. Agreste smiled. "Finally free. No one has to stay trapped here anymore."

"From now on, anyone that enters the Betweens, can leave. And now that we've freed everyone, we can get back to the portal." Marinette announced.

They all journeyed back to the portal, excitedly catching up and talking about everything that's happened.

* * *

"Here's the portal." Adrien said, presenting it to his mother. "The portal leads to your hidden room. We thought it was safer in there."

Marinette tied the rope around her waist again as she watched Adrien's face light up with happiness. She could tell that he couldn't be more excited to see his mom.

"Well the sooner we get back, the better." Adrien's mom said, stepping into the portal.

Adrien took Marinette's hand and led her through. Alya and Nino followed.

They reached the other side as Marinette untied the rope. The portal closed as the rope was removed.

"Well." Alya started. "Me and Nino should get going. We wanted to go see a movie later."

"Bye." Marinette waved as they crawled back through the safe.

"Everything is going to be great now that your back. I can't wait to tell you all about school." Adrien's smile widened as he spoke.

"Wait Adrien." Marinette started. "We should probably take her to a hotel for a couple of days."

"Why?"

"Well . . . " Marinette said. "She has been missing for over a year and she'll need to come up with some excuses for being gone. She won't be able to wander the city without being questioned."

"How long will she need to be hidden and where will she go?" Adrien asked, worried.

"Probably just a few days and I'm sure the mayor wouldn't mind helping us out." Marinette replied.

Adrien looked down at the floor as his smile faded.

"It's okay Adrien." Mrs. Agreste said, putting her hand on Adrien's shoulder. "It's for the best and you can come visit me everyday at any time."

"Okay." Adrien said with his smile returning. "We'll take you to the Le Grand Paris hotel, but we'll have to be transformed and we'll have to get you out of here with out dad and his assistants seeing you."

"Transformed?" Mrs. Agreste questioned. "You have a miraculous too, Adrien?"

"Yeah." He smiled. "I'm Chat Noir. See. Plagg, Claws Out!" He shouted and transformed.

"I might as well transform too." Marinette said, opening her purse for her kwami. "Tikki, Spots On!"

Mrs. Agreste smiled at them before hugging them both.

"You guys are even more spectacular than I thought." She said, letting them go. "Now we don't need to sneak past anyone in this house."

She walked over to a small picture frame and opened it up to reveal a button on the wall. She pressed it and the wall opened up a secret elevator.

"Cool." Chat awed. "This room never stops amazing me."

"Well . . . Chat Noir, this room is filled with tons of secrets that you don't know." Mrs. Agreste waved for them to step into the elevator and they followed.

The elevator led them up to the roof of the mansion.

"He we are. At the very top of the this house." Mrs. Agreste presented.

Ladybug and Chat Noir looked around at the amazing view.

"Chat Noir." Ladybug started. "You take your mom to the top of the hotel while I'll go talk to Mr. Bourgeois."

She leaped from the top of the mansion and headed for the Le Grand Paris hotel.

* * *

"Uh . . . Mr. Bourgeois?" Ladybug squeaked, approaching the mayor quietly.

"Oh Ladybug!" Mr. Bourgeois shouted with excitement, running over to her. "What a pleasant surprise! What can I do for you?"

"Can you do me and Chat Noir a favor?"

"Sure. Anything."

"I have a friend who needs a place to stay for a couple of days. Can she stay here?"

"Of course. It shouldn't be a problem. Here." He said, handing her a small silver key. "This is for one of my best rooms here at the hotel and your friend can stay for as long as she likes."

"Thank you Mr. Bourgeois." Ladybug thanked, heading for the door.

"Please. Call me Andre. And it's the least I can do for one of Paris's heroes."

Ladybug headed out of the hotel and up to the roof where Chat Noir and Mrs. Agreste were waiting at. She gave them the key, so they could find the room for Mrs. Agreste. Chat Noir hugged Ladybug once again before she left towards her parent's bakery.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **I don't know how I feel about this chapter. I couldn't think of enough detail to describe the Betweens and the portal. I tried my best. I try to write the next chapter much better. Marinette's birthday is coming.**


	13. Chapter 13: Marinette's Birthday

Adrien sprung up out of bed at the sound of his beeping alarm. He scurried to get dressed and clean up.

"What are you doing? You know school's out." Plagg moaned. "The last day of school was Friday. Did you hit you head or something in the Betweens?"

"No Plagg." Adrien glared at Plagg while slipping on his jacket. "Today is Monday and I have to get to Marinette's house."

"Why?"

"Did you hit your head or something? It's Marinette's birthday." Adrien grinned. "Which means I'm going to see her."

"You do realize that it's called a birthDAY. No one said you had to visit her this early in the morning. We both could be sleeping right now." Plagg continued to complain to Adrien.

"I'm leaving now Plagg. I want to surprise her." Adrien smiled, grabbing a small blue box from his desk. "Plagg! Claws Out!"

* * *

It was 9:30 a.m. and Marinette sat up on her bed sewing. She had woke up early to finish a few last minute details on her dress.

Suddenly, Chat Noir's head swung down in front of Marinette.

"Ah!" Marinette screamed in surprise. "Chat Noir, you scared me."

"Sorry princess, I just wanted to surprise you on your special day."

"The surprise is how your hair defies gravity when you're upside down." Marinette laughed. "But my party isn't until later. What are you doing here now?"

"Wait a second. Close your eyes."

"Why? What are you gonna do?"

"Just close your eyes."

"Fine." Marinette agreed, closing her eyes.

Chat Noir managed to pull the small blue box out of his pocket while being upside down and held it in front of Marinette.

"Okay. Open your eyes." Chat smiled.

"You aren't asking me to marry you, right?"

"No. Not now. Just open it."

Marinette's face lit up as she opened the tiny box. There was a necklace inside the box that matched the Ladybug and Chat Noir charm bracelet.

"Oh Chat . . . it's beautiful. Thank you. I love it."

"I do except thanks in kisses." Chat Noir smirked.

"Okay. I guess you deserve it." Marinette leaned forward and lightly kissed Chat Noir's lips before putting her new necklace on. "Now get down before all of the blood rushes to your head."

Marinette scooted to the other side of her bed so Chat Noir could drop down into her room. He landed on the edge of Marinette's bed and smiled at her. Even though he was bit dizzy from being upside down. Chat Noir detransformed into Adrien and let his kwami wander to find Tikki. Adrien immediately eyed Marinette's dress.

"What's that? What did you design?" Adrien asked, reaching over to peek at the dress.

"No. Paws off." Marinette protested. "You don't get to see this dress until my party starts."

"Why? You are an amazing designer and I know talent when I see it. And fashion is practically my life. My dad is a famous fashion designer and I model his clothes."

"Well . . . I'll give you a hint to what it looks like. When you gave me this charm bracelet, you wrote a note on the side of the bag." Marinette began, showing him the bracelet on her wrist. "One of the lines said "Your eyes sparkle like the stars" and that gave me the idea to make a star themed dress."

"I gave you the idea for your dress?" Adrien's eyes lit up.

"Yes. Another thing my charm bracelet did. It caused you to find out who I am and it caused my mind to burst with outfit ideas."

"Well you're welcome, My Lady. Do I get another kiss?" Adrien smirked.

"I think you'll live . . . but maybe later." Marinette said, pushing Adrien towards the trap door.

"You don't know that. I could fall off of your balcony."

"Then if you want that kiss, you better make sure you stay alive." Marinette smiled. "Now go. I have to finish my dress and it won't be a surprise if you're here."

"But you party isn't until two o'clock." Adrien whined. "That's too long of a wait."

"Try to survive."

"Fine. Plagg! Claws Out!" Adrien shouted as Plagg returned from down below the stairs.

Chat Noir crawled back through the trap door and bounced of the roof tops into the distance.

* * *

It was now two thirty in the afternoon and Marinette had already set up in the park for her party. She wore her black starred dress, with her signature pigtails, and flats. Marinette wore her new necklace and her charm bracelet that Adrien had given her. She stood under a tree awaiting the rest of the guests to come. Over half of the class had already shown up. She knew that Sabrina wouldn't come unless Chloe was invited, so there was only about five to six more people to arrive.

Marinette saw Alya walking over to her and smiled.

"Wow Marinette. I like your dress." Alya complimented, looking up and down.

"Thanks. I made it myself."

"I figured." Alya smiled. "Oh and I have a special present for you for your sweet sixteen." Alya held out a small light pink envelope.

"Oh well the gift table is over there. I'll open it when I open everyone else's."

"Oh no girl. I'm your best friend which means you open my gift first." Alya insisted.

"Okay." Marinette smiled, taking the card. She opened it up and read the bright pink ink. "Dear Marinette. You are welcome to join Alya and her family to London for a five day vacation! From June 24th-29th." Marinette screamed. "What?! This is great but . . . it's too much Alya. How did your parents afford this? I don't know if I can accept this."

"No take backs." Alya smirked. "You're going. Me and my parents were already going on vacation, but we found out there was an extra bedroom, so I thought of you. And adding to this fantastic gift, you can pick one or two more friends. Maybe Adrien and Nino." Alya  
smiled, elbowing Marinette's side. "If they come though, you'll have to share a room with me instead of getting your own."

"Okay I'll come. I'll also ask Adrien later and you can invite Nino."

"Yay!" Alya squealed, hugging Marinette. "This is going to be so much fun. I'll go find Nino and ask him. I would text him, but my phone is so slow today for some reason. Now you can go tell Adrien now that he's here." Alya pointed behind Marinette towards Adrien before walking away.

Marinette turned around to see Adrien's smiling face.

"Happy Birthday Marinette."

"Thanks Adrien. I'm glad you came."

"That dress is even more amazing than I thought it'd be." Adrien awed, looking at her from head to toe. "You'll be a great fashion designer one day."

"Thanks. That's what I'm going for."

Adrien grinned, eying Marinette's necklace. "You wore the necklace I gave you."

"Of course. You gave it to me and I even wore the matching charm bracelet." Marinette jingled the charm bracelet in front of him.

"So . . . " Adrien grinned. "Now that it's past two o'clock and I'm at your party . . . do I still get that kiss?"

"I guess." Marinette smiled, lightly kissing Adrien. "Since you've gone through so much suffering, waiting five hours."

Marinette turned around after hearing her mom chuckle.

"I think my mom likes you." She said, turning back around.

"That's good, right?"

"Yeah, but she's gonna make fun of me a lot. Although I am used to it. Alya already brings up all of my failed attempts of talking to you."

"Marinette." Sabine called. "Come blow out your candles so we can cut the cake."

"I guess that's my cue. I've gotta go blow out my candles."

"You better hurry. Our classmates all love cake and they have to wait for you to blow out sixteen candles before they can have any." Adrien said, pushing Marinette towards the table with the birthday cake.

"Oh by the way I'll have to talk to you later. I'm going on vacation to London with Alya and you and Nino can come if you want." Marinette blurted before going to the cake table.

"I'll think about it and I'll ask my dad later."

Marinette quickly blew out her candles and let everyone enjoy some of her cake. She then started to open everyone's presents. She had ended up with no leftover cake, two new pairs of shoes, a few outfits, and some sewing equipment.

Soon after opening presents and talking to everyone, everyone began to leave. Once Marinette and her parents cleaned up what was left from the party, she headed back to the bakery.

* * *

Marinette, stilled wearing her hand made dress, stood at the top of the bakery on her balcony. She leaned against the railing, watching the sun start to sink in the sky.

Chat Noir jumped over from a rooftop landing next to Marinette on the railing. Marinette jumped, inhaling deeply as Chat Noir spooked her again.

"Hi." Chat said, as he sat on top of the railing.

"Chat! What did I tell you about scaring me like that!" Marinette scolded out of breathe.

"Sorry. I'm too stealthy of a Chat." He grinned. "I asked my dad if I could go with you, Alya and Nino to London and said it's fine. I just have to do a couple extra photo shoots before we leave and I have to keep practicing my Chinese while I'm there."

"That's good. Alya texted me saying that Nino hasn't successfully convinced his parents to let him go yet. For some reason his parents don't want him to go. It's so unusual. So I guess you'll just have to pray that he can go so you won't be alone as the only boy."

"I don't mind being the only boy, but the more friends, the better." He added. "So how has your birthday been so far?"

"Pretty good. I had a nice party with great friends and an awesome boyfriend."

"Had?" Chat questioned. "It's still your birthday which means you still have the rest of the day for fun. And it's your sweet sixteen." He added.

"What more could I do? It's six o'clock and I don't have anything else planned."

"You may not have anything planned . . . but I do." Chat smiled, bouncing off of the railing and onto the floor.

"What do you have planned?" Marinette said concerned, turning to face Chat Noir.

"I have one more surprise for your birthday. Now hop on."

"Um . . . where are you gonna take me?" Marinette asked, climbing onto Chat Noir's back.

"If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise. Now close your eyes."

"Okay, but I better not be forced to do anything. Last time I was taken somewhere for a surprise, I was forced to go on a date with someone I didn't like at the time." Marinette smiled, closing her eyes. "Okay, my eyes are closed."

"Good. Now keep them shut." Chat commanded, leaping from the balcony.

Soon after, Chat Noir landed on the ground and put Marinette down.

"Claws in." Adrien whispered to his kwami.

"What?" Marinette asked, confused.

"Open your eyes." Adrien smiled.

Marinette slowly lifted her eyelids to see the front entrance of the Agreste mansion.

"What? Why did you bring me to your house?"

"You'll see."

Adrien couldn't help but grin as he pushed Marinette forward inside.

"What? No. What are you-"

Marinette stopped as she met the stern glare of Gabriel Agreste, who stood at the top of the stairs. Adrien moved to her side with a rising grin.

"Dad . . . this is Marinette." Adrien presented with a little bit of his Chat Noir showing.

Marinette froze. "What are you doing?" She whispered.

"You told me you always wanted to meet my dad." He whispered back. "So dad. I had told you about Marinette before and how she wants to become a fashion designer."

"Yes. I remember."

"Well . . . Marinette just so happens to be an amazing designer so far." Adrien pushed Marinette forward more. "She even made the dress she's wearing."

Gabriel stared at Marinette's dress without changing his expression.

"It is a very nice dress. The craftsmanship seems neat and the quality looks pleasing. What else have you created?" He asked with his deepening voice.

"Oh . . . uh . . . I made this purse I'm wearing . . . and I made Jagged Stone some sunglasses . . . and . . . I've made some other random stuff." Marinette stuttered. "I also won your contest for a derby hat and . . . won."

"Maybe Adrien was right about you." He said in a more appealing tone. "You seem to be a good designer." He had stopped to think for a moment as Marinette attempted to define his facial expression. "How would you feel about working with me?" He continued. "It would be nice to have a teenage point of view for some of my designs."

"I-I would love to Mr. Agreste! Thank you so much! It would be an honor!" Marinette babbled excitedly.

"Very well. If you are interested, then you'll start work in about a week."

"Thank you again Mr. Agreste. You won't regret this."

Gabriel exited the room in silence as Marinette jumped over and hugged Adrien.

"Thank you Adrien. This has been the best birthday ever."

"Well, you did tell Chat Noir that it was your dream to meet Gabriel Agreste." Adrien laughed.

"So for my birthday, you decide to make all of my dreams come true."

"It was worth it." He said, leading Marinette out of the mansion. "My mom told me that she has a present for you too. So should visit her tomorrow."

"Or we could go now." Marinette suggested.

"Okay. I enjoy visiting my mom at any time."

"And before we leave, just so you know this has been the best day ever because of you and you are the best boyfriend ever." Marinette smiled, looking deep into Adrien's emerald eyes.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **I loved the idea of Marinette's birthday. I really enjoyed writing this chapter. So far I think there are about 3-4 more chapters left for me to write in this fanfiction. I'm not sure. And from here on, there will be a lot happening in the chapters, so keep reading.**

 **I love all of your guys' reviews. And yes, last chapter I purposely made Marinette shout "Geronimo" because I watch Doctor Who. I like to make some small hidden secrets and references in my chapters sometimes.**

 **SPOILER: This chapter has some hidden important details in it that are leading to the next chapter. Pay close attention and look out for them.**

 **-Alice Pink**


	14. Chapter 14: Paris Under Siege

**A/N**

 **This chapter is going to be longer than normal. A lot happens in this chapter and I didn't want to split it into two. Enjoy.**

* * *

Marinette and Adrien entered the Le Grand Paris hotel talking to each other.

"So how's your mom been since she left the Betweens?" Marinette asked as they walked inside of the elevator.

"She's adjusting very quickly to everything. Yesterday I had visited her and we discussed excuses for her disappearance." Adrien said as they stepped out of the elevator and into the long red hallway.

"That's good. So what did you guys think of-"

"Marinette!" Chloe yelled, stomping over to them. "What are you doing here? This hotel is for the famous and wealthy only. And Ladybug and Chat Noir of course." Chloe shouted, making Adrien and Marinette snicker. "Adrien, you of course can come here anytime . . . but why are you here, Marinette?!"

"I'm . . . visiting a friend." Marinette replied.

"I doubt you know anyone here." Chloe crossed her arms. "And since you don't have a reason to be here, you can leave. But Adrien, you can stay."

"Chloe." Adrien said in an annoyed tone. "Me and Marinette are not leaving. We are both visiting someone and we don't need you standing in our way."

Adrien led Marinette past Chloe with a smile. Chloe was left there alone, full of rage.

"Chloe might hate you now, Adrien." Marinette said, looking up at his smiling face.

"I hope." Adrien began as they continued down the hallway. "Then maybe she'll keep her hands off of me and stop embarrassing me in public."

"Hopefully she'll leave us both alone." Marinette laughed.

They approached room 220 and Adrien gently knocked on the door. Mrs. Agreste answered with a smile.

"It's nice to see you guys again." She said, inviting them in.

"It's nice to see you too." Marinette smiled back, stepping into the hotel room.

The hotel room was huge and fancy and just like Mr. Bourgeois said, it's one of the best rooms. Everything was neat and there was a huge TV that was on, but muted.

"So . . . Mrs. Agreste." Marinette began "What reasons have you thought of for being gone?"

"I have a couple of ideas, but the one I think I like the most though is that I was away traveling and getting clothing ideas for Gabriel."

"That's believable." Adrien stated. "Since dad's a fashion designer."

"It also won't be a lie once I'm back to help Gabriel with his designing." She added.

"What are you gonna tell dad anyway?"

"I'll tell him the truth of course. He deserves the truth, Adrien, and after everything me and him have been through . . . I can't lie to him." Mrs. Agreste looked at her feet, but soon looked up with a smile. "I almost forgot!" She exclaimed.

She walked over to her night stand and pulled something out of a small drawer. She moved back over to Marinette and Adrien and held out a key to Marinette.

"Here." She said, placing the key in Marinette's palm. "Think of this as a delayed birthday gift. It's a key to the elevator in my hidden room. The elevator is unlocked from the inside out the house, but not the outside. I had a feeling that I'd be seeing you a lot, so . . . I think you should have a key."

"Thanks. I'll try to visit whenever I can." Marinette replied.

"I hope so." She said, smiling at both of them.

Adrien's gaze was suddenly interrupted by the images on the TV.

"Wait. What's that?" He said, pushing past them towards the TV.

The news on the TV was suddenly changed to a terrifying image of Stormy Weather.

"That's Stormy Weather." Marinette announced.

"Why is she back? We defeated her a long time ago." Adrien said, moving to the window. Small water droplets started to appear on it. "It's starting to rain. Stormy Weather's coming back and it's going to be bad. "

"Look!" Marinette shouted, pointing up at the sky. There was a gigantic, pink, glittery cloud emerging from above.

"That's Princess Fragrance's perfume cloud." Adrien analyzed. "We better hurry up and transform before things get worse."

"I'll go call Alya real quick." Marinette said as she pulled her phone out of her pocket and stepped back into the hallway.

Marinette: Alya! Do you see what's going on outside?

Alya: Yeah. It's pretty bad.

Marinette: Alya? What's up with your voice?

Alya: My phone's still malfunctioning and now it's messing with the way I sound. It's really irritating me and I don't have time to get it fixed right now.

Marinette: Alya, you need to transform-

Alya: Girl I know, but . . . there's something wrong with Nino.

Marinette: What do you mean? What's wrong with him?

Alya: I was talking to Nino when he suddenly turned into The Bubbler. He bounced away on the rooftops as I ran and hid behind a building.

Marinette: This is a lot more worse than I thought. We won't have Nino to fight with us, but after you transform, meet me and Adrien outside of the Le Grand Paris hotel. We're at the hotel right now and we're about to transform.

Alya: I'll be there in five minutes.

Marinette: Okay, bye.

Marinette slid down the wall and sighed as Tikki flew out of her bag.

"This is different, Tikki." She began. "Villains usually don't come back again like this and it seems highly unusual. Me and Volpina went on patrol yesterday to see if anyone was angry enough to become akumatized, but everything seemed okay."

"You guys will fix everything, Marinette. You always do." Tikki coaxed. "Everything will be fine."

"It's just . . . I have a feeling that . . . something really bad is going to happen. Me and Adrien haven't fought anything like this before and Alya certainly hasn't." Marinette faltered. She stood up from the floor and looked up at Tikki. "We should get going. Tikki! Spots On!"

Marinette transformed into Ladybug and entered the hotel room again to find an already transformed Adrien.

"Come on." Chat Noir said as they both ran down the hallway to the stairwell. They headed up to the hotel roof.

* * *

"I can't believe it." Chloe mumbled as she stared in shock at her cell phone screen." Marinette and Adrien . . . Ladybug and Chat Noir."

There on Chloe's phone was a video recording of Marinette talking in the hallway.

"Marinette is Ladybug . . . Adrien is Chat Noir . . . " She analyzed. "And . . . Alya . . . and Nino are heroes too! I was fangirling over Marinette! And what was that red bug floating thing?!" Chloe shouted in anger. "I was so stupid! How did I not see this before? And now that Marinette was stupid enough to admit it . . . there is no way that they will get away with this!"

Chloe smiled an evil grin as she back left down the hallway.

"Paris won't be the same when they know who their beloved heroes really are."

* * *

Ladybug and Chat Noir peered off of the edge of the hotel roof. Suddenly a white beam of light shot up to the sky.

"The Pharaoh." Ladybug informed, staring at the light beam. "It's almost like . . . all of the akumatized villains are returning. But why?"

"We should go warn my dad first." Chat Noir announced. "We don't know what order the villains are returning in and Simon Says might come looking for him."

"Alright. Let's go."

Ladybug nodded her head at Chat Noir and they both jumped from the hotel roof. They landed at the front entrance of the Le Grand Paris hotel and saw Volpina approaching them.

"I made it. Everything is insan-" Volpina stopped and froze where she was at.

"Volpina? What's wrong?" Ladybug asked, walking over to her, concerned.

Volpina didn't react. She stood there with no response.

"Alya?" Ladybug waved her hand in front of Volpina's face to see if she'd even blink. "Have any ideas?" Ladybug said, turning to Chat Noir.

"That's so weird." Chat said, moving forward. "She was talking to us like normal and then she . . . froze."

Suddenly Volpina was covered in a black and purple glowing cloud. She was unfrozen and transformed back into Lady Wifi.

Ladybug gasped as she backed away from her friend. "Alya, No!" She cried.

"You two!" Lady Wifi shouted. "It's bad enough that my phone hasn't been working, but you can make this a whole lot easier by giving me your miraculouses." An evil grin slowly appeared on Lady Wifi's face.

"We should go." Chat Noir said, grabbing Ladybug's hand quickly as he ran towards the Agreste mansion.

"You can't hide forever Ladybug and Chat Noir!" Lady Wifi screamed before zooming away on a fast forward button.

Chat Noir rushed Ladybug inside of the mansion. They both leaned against the closed door after escaping Lady Wifi.

"Phew. That was close." Chat sighed.

"Yeah and poor Alya." Ladybug said as she looked up to see Gabriel Agreste on the other side of the room.

"Hello Ladybug and Chat Noir." Gabriel said with a small grin appearing on his face.

"Oh uh . . . hello Mr. Agreste." Chat Noir said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Me and Ladybug have come here to warn you about everything that's happening to Paris. Previous akumatized villains are returning and you might be in danger if you leave. Simon Says might come looking for you like last time if he is brought back."

"Oh I know very well what's going on outside and I'm not worried." Gabriel said, as he moved closer to them. "But just in case . . . I will engage all of the houses defense systems and put it on total lockdown."

"Now that you are aware of the dangers outside . . . we should probably get going." Ladybug said as they headed for the door.

"Oh no." Gabriel laughed, pulling out a small remote control. "You two aren't going anywhere." He smiled, pressing a small button on the controller.

A clear barrier quickly appeared around Ladybug and Chat Noir. It looked as if they were trapped inside a big glass box.

"What are you doing?!" Ladybug shouted, banging her fist against the side.

"You two didn't think you'd get away that easy, did you?" Gabriel grinned as he grabbed his tablet and moved over to them.

"Why are you doing this?" Chat Noir asked, glaring right at his dad.

"See . . . I need both of your miraculouses and . . . you two seem almost unstoppable every time I send an akumatized villain your way. And now that I lured you two here . . . you don't have a choice, but to give them up."

"You're . . . Hawkmoth?" Chat asked.

"Isn't it obvious? And it doesn't matter that you know who I am because you won't win this time. Now that I have all of these villains roaming Paris, they'll be here at any time to help me."

"We're never gonna give you our miraculouses." Ladybug screamed, full of anger. " Why do you even want them anyway?"

"You wouldn't understand ladybug. It's a long story and I have to do this."

"No you don't! There is always another way! Just let us go and find it." Chat demanded.

"I'll only let you go once I have your miraculouses."

"No!" Ladybug screeched, looking straight into Gabriel's eyes.

"If you give them to me . . . I'll let you go. I'll even withdraw my akuma. If you hand them over, Paris will stop being terrorized."

"No. We can't." Ladybug said, leaning her forehead on the barrier.

"But you can." Gabriel held his up tablet in front of Ladybug.

On the screen was a pale school girl with black hair that was in two buns on top of her head. She had glowing white eyes and wore a black and white outfit with suspenders.

"This is Corruption. She is a young girl that was being bullied and wanted revenge." Gabriel began. "I had found out that if an akuma goes around making the old akumatized people mad, then they all can come back. Corruption has been going around Paris messing with peoples' lives. She put viruses on Lady Wifi's phone, misplaced Timebreaker's watch, and even bombarded Jagged Stone with crazed fans." Gabriel switched to the news on his tablet, showing them the occurrences that were happening outside. "With all of these akumas attacking, I knew that it would be easier to get your miraculouses. And Corruption will continue to attack until the akuma is defeated."

"We can't defeat the akuma if we're trapped here."

"I told you, Ladybug. I'll withdraw it. You can find some other way to repair the damage, but I can stop Corruption from continuing to cause more damage." Gabriel looked up from his tablet and at Ladybug and Chat Noir. "Right now . . . Paris rests in your hands. Make your choice."

Ladybug sighed, looking at her feet in anger and sadness.

Suddenly the news on Gabriel's tablet showed a shocking story. Gabriel turned the volume on and stared at the tablet, showing it to the captive heroes.

"Breaking News!" The reporter shouted. "You may have heard small rumors before about Ladybug and Chat Noir's identities, but now we have proof to who they really are."

Ladybug jerked her head up with widened eyes as Chat Noir moved closer to her to get a closer view of the screen.

Gabriel smiled to himself. "This is even better. I get to know who you two really are."

"We have been given a video that proves who the real Ladybug and Chat Noir are. And there is a lot more to the video. It also reveals the identities of our two new heroes." The reporter paused to read a slip of paper. "And . . . Ladybug is actually Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Volpina is really Alya Césaire. That new guy is Nino Lahiffe. And Chat Noir is . . . Adrien Agreste." The reporter finished.

"Everything will change." Ladybug mumbled, her eyes beginning to water. "Nothing will ever be the same again . . . and it's all my fault."

Gabriel Agreste froze in shock. He turned his head to face a glaring Chat Noir. Chat Noir gave him a hatred look of rage. Gabriel had no words at first to respond.

"Adrien?" He asked, before his voice broke. "You're Chat Noir?"

"Yes Hawkmoth." Chat Noir said.

"I'm sorry for all of this but . . . you don't understand."

"No! I don't think you understand. How could you do this to Paris? If it wasn't for us, Paris would have fallen a long time ago because of you."

"Adrien." Gabriel began, putting his face in his right hand. "I need to tell you a story."

"What kind of story?"

"About a year ago . . . me . . . and your mother were separated. But not separated like you'd think. I had got stuck in some other world and she had come back to save me. I thought there was no way to get back there, but there is one way . . . and I need your miraculouses to get there. She's been stuck there for a while now since I hadn't acquired them." Gabriel paused to cope with the memories. "That's where your mother is Adrien . . . and it's all because of me. I've tried to ignore everything that makes me think about her, but that just makes me ignore you." His now watering eyes looked directly at Adrien. "I'm sorry. I've filled your schedule with so much stuff to do, hoping that you won't have time to sit down and be sad about it, but I never thought how you would feel-"

"Stop." Chat Noir said looking up from his feet. "I understand why you did this. . . but you need to stop it."

"I need your mom back in my life, Adrien." He pleaded.

"I know . . . and I do too. And that's why me and Marinette and our friends rescued her."

"What?"

"We brought her back almost two days ago." Chat faintly smiled.

"Why didn't you bring her here?" He asked, becoming skeptical.

"She needed some time to come up with excuses and to get use to everything."

"I . . . don't know . . . if I believe you." Gabriel forced out.

"I knew it. Father, you never believe me or care about me." Adrien's words shot pain through Gabriel.

"I would believe you Adrien . . . but we're fighting against each other right now-"

"Then let me go. I'll go get her and bring her back here. But! You must withdraw the akuma when I do."

"Fine." Gabriel said, pressing the button to release the barrier.

"Adrien." Ladybug began. "I'll be on the roof waiting for you. Once you bring your mother here, meet me up there and we'll fix everything."

Chat Noir nodded at Ladybug before she ran out of the mansion. Chat Noir was just about to leave when Gabriel spoke.

"Thank you . . . Adrien." He smiled.

Chat Noir had no words. He couldn't think of what to say. His father had never thanked him or smiled at him before like that. He walked out of the mansion and was more confused than he had ever been.

* * *

Ladybug had exited the mansion right before Chat Noir had. She swung up to the roof with her yo-yo and sat down with a loud sigh, placing her head between her knees. The rain had stopped, but the dark clouds still covered the city. Ladybug detransformed back to Marinette as her eyes began to water. She pulled out her phone from her pocket and checked the news.

"This is all my fault." She cried.

There were news reporters interviewing a bunch of people that knew her and Adrien. They were being asked about their thoughts on the heroes. Marinette watched as her classmates and other people that had seen her speak about her.

"I can't believe she's Ladybug! Her superhero self is almost opposite to her normal self."

"I'm not surprised that Adrien Agreste is Chat Noir. He was already awesome."

"I don't believe it. That video has to be fake. Marinette could not possibly be Ladybug."

"Marinette is way to clumsy to be Ladybug."

"How can Marinette even have friends? She would be too occupied as Ladybug."

A tear rolled down Marinette's cheek as she continued to watch the news. She knew that if anyone knew their identities that it would result in judgment, criticism, and doubt.

She laid back against the roof and looked up at the darkening sky. She could hear as the Parisians below screamed in fear from the events. Ladybug had started to do the math and found out that every five minutes, an old villain is brought back.

"After this . . . there's no point." She whispered to herself. "I can't go to school, I can't walk down the street, I can't say or do anything upsetting . . . I can't . . . do anything."

* * *

After reaching the hotel once again and explaining a bunch of details to his mother, Chat Noir had led her back to the mansion. They walked inside and met Gabriel again.

"Adrien wasn't lying." Gabriel said, not releasing his gaze from Mrs. Agreste.

"Gabriel!" Mrs. Agreste gasped, before running over and hugging her husband.

Gabriel looked up from his wife and smiled at Chat Noir.

"That you again Adrien."

"Yeah sure, Hawkmoth. Now withdraw your akuma." Chat Noir said with an annoyed tone.

"What?" Mrs. Agreste asked, backing away from her husband. "Why is Adrien calling you Hawkmoth? What happened?"

"I have done some really bad things since you've been gone." Gabriel said, looking at his feet. "When I found the moth miraculous, I used it to akumatized angry citizens, so that hopefully one of them would get me Ladybug and Chat Noir's miraculous. And I needed their miraculouses to open the portal to the Betweens to save you."

"Oh Gabriel. There is always another way that isn't evil." Mrs. Agreste said, giving him a sincere smile. "But I'm glad you tried. Adrien and his friends did the same thing you tried to do, but instead they were good. They used four miraculouses and got me out without hurting anyone."

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry about everything!" Gabriel shouted. "I'll go withdraw the akuma." He turned towards Adrien with hope. "Adrien . . . save the day."

Chat Noir finally smiled back at his father, realizing that he truly was sorry. He waved goodbye to his parents and left to meet up with Ladybug.

* * *

Marinette still laid on her back at the top of the mansion. She had closed her eyes to continue thinking. A few tears had dried on her face. She quickly opened her eyes to the cold touch of a snowflake. She sat up and stared at the sky.

"Snow? Stormy Weather is still attacking." She whispered with wide eyes.

Wind started to blow, making her cold. She soon felt anger deep inside of her heart.

"Hey." Chat Noir called, walking over. "My Lady." He bowed.

"Uh hi . . . Chat." Marinette said, looking up.

"What's wrong?" He asked, concerned, helping her up.

"Everything, but it's not as bad as your problems or what's happening to Paris."

"Don't worry. I'll listen."

"Well." Marinette began. "Everyone knows our identities . . . and it's all my fault." She cried, burying her face in Chat Noir's shoulder.

"It's not your fault." He protested, wrapping her in a hug.

"Have you seen the news? All of their evidence is a recording of me saying yours, Nino's, and Alya's name and me saying you guys need to transform to save everyone. It's like I went out into the streets and confessed to everything. I was so stupid!" She shouted, backing away from Chat Noir. "I ruined mine, yours, Nino's and Alya's private life. Everything's different no-"

Marinette placed her hand on her heart. She felt the anger deep inside coming out.

"What's wrong?" Chat stepped forward and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Don't let the evil take over you. Fight it! Don't let the anger through."

Marinette looked up at Chat Noir who had fear in his eyes.

"Don't change." He pleaded.

Flashes of light started at Marinette's feet and slowly rose to her knees.

"I don't think I can fight it, Adrien." Marinette cried, tears returning to her eyes. "I don't want to go." She turned to look at Chat Noir one last time as the light reached her waist. "I'm sorry." She whispered.

The light fully covered Marinette and she collapsed into Chat Noir's arms.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **I hope you guys liked this chapter. Tell me what you think. And thank you The Cryptkeeper for the reviews. They're very helpful. I didn't know before if I was actually gonna write a chapter where they go to London, but I think I know what I could write now.**

 **-Alice Pink**


	15. Chapter 15: Dream Big

Marinette woke up on the wooden floor in the Between's library. She was laying in the middle of the room next to the couches and tables. She opened up her eyes and looked around the room, realizing where she was at.

"Ugh! Why am I back here?!" Marinette groaned, getting up off of the floor. "Hey Betweens! Why did you bring me back? You know you can't keep me here." Marinette shouted, looking up at the ceiling. "I've gotta get out quick so I can get back to Paris to help Chat Noir." She mumbled.

Marinette looked around the library again, seeing all of the bookshelves and the usual things that had been there. She remembered where the staircase was, but there was something that had caught her eye behind her.

"Wait. What was that?" She questioned, turning back around. She saw out of the corner of her eye that at the edge of the room was an opening. "That wasn't there before." She whispered, walking over.

The edge of the room was darker and the opening was almost hidden, but it was still visible. Marinette slid through the opening and peered inside. The opening led to another room that was also a library, but much smaller. The shelves were all laid against the walls instead of in rows. In the center of the room stood a tall, brown podium with a small light.

"Another library?" She said, moving around the room, looking at the shelves.

The bookshelves in the room were filled with a lot more dust than any of the book shelves outside of the room.

"This room must be older." Marinette analyzed before moving over to the podium.

On the podium stood a thick brown book with gold medal on the corners.

Marinette approached the podium and opened the book. She blew all of the dust off of it and furrowed her eyebrows.

"What? The pages are blank?" She said, flipping through the pages.

Marinette eventually realized that every page was blank and turned back to the first page. Suddenly, as she reached the first page, words started to appear. The words continued to appear as she read them.

"Marinette, this book holds many secrets and mysteries about the future. You are in need of some information."

"So this is why I'm here." She mumbled before she kept reading.

"This book will only let you read what you need, but once you look away from this book, you will forget everything. You can only fully access these secrets when the time is right. Sometimes it requires a certain impact or trigger word to cause you to remember." Marinette kept her eyes glued to the book as she turned to the next page. "A great evil is coming. An evil more powerful than you have ever fought before. The Collector will rise and he will cause more problems than Hawkmoth ever has. You will need to unlock the hidden secrets of your miraculous to defeat him." Marinette quit reading as the words stopped appearing.

"That's it? Who's The Collector?" Marinette asked as the book suddenly slammed itself shut. "Hey! I'm not done." Marinette protested, trying to pry the book back open. "Ugh! Why won't you open back up? How is any of the information that you just told me going to help if I don't understand it?"

Marinette frowned and accidentally turned away from the book for a second. She immediately forgot everything she just learned.

"What?" She said, scratching her head as she turned to look back at the book. "What did I . . . just read? Did I . . . read something." She stared at the book, confused, trying to figure out what had just happened. When she looked at the book though, she was thought nothing of it. Her mind had no interest in it.

Marinette spun around and headed for the opening in the corner, but it closed when she came near it.

"No!" She shouted, hitting her fist against the wall. "How am I-" Marinette was interrupted by the sound of bookshelves moving.

She turned around to see two bookshelves separate and reveal a passage.

"Another hidden place?" Marinette observed as she walked to the new path. "I'll never understand this place." She said, shaking her head.

The passage led her to a small room with a huge TV on one wall and a long desk with a control panel.

Marinette moved to the TV and saw that it shows what's happening back in the real world. Marinette typed in Paris, France on the control panel and live footage of Paris showed up on the screen.

"Oh no. Everything is getting worse. The Mime has destroyed the Eiffel Tower again and Pigeons have taken over all the parks." Marinette stated, tears filling her eyes. "I wish . . . that everything was over. I wish that I was there, as Ladybug, right now to fix everything." Marinette mumbled. "I wish everything was like it used to be."

"Granted." The TV spoke as the words lit up the scream.

"Granted?" Marinette looked back up at the TV, confused.

Marinette soon became cold and felt tired. She looked down at her hand that was starting to fade. Looking up and down, she realized that her whole body was starting to disappear.

"What's happening?! Betweens? What are you doing? What was my purpose in being here?!" Marinette shouted at the ceiling as she grew colder and disappeared more.

Marinette peeked down to see everything below her waist gone. She couldn't keep her eyes open any longer and her eyelids shut for her to sleep.

* * *

Chat Noir awoke from a nap on top of the mansion to see Marinette moving in her sleep. She laid there on his lap mumbling. Chat Noir watched as she suddenly turned into Ladybug. Streams of sparkling ladybugs flew out of her. They circled the city, repairing any damage that was caused. Chat Noir stared at them as Paris was fixed. When they were done, he leaned closer to Ladybug as she continued to squirm.

Ladybug quickly shot up, hitting her head against Chat's.

"Ow!" Chat whined, rubbing his forehead.

"Sorry!" Ladybug apologized, feeling her head too.

"Marinette! I mean . . . Ladybug! You're awake!" Chat smiled with joy, hugging Ladybug as she sat up. "What happened? Right before you woke up, you turned into Ladybug and all of Paris's damage was fixed. It was so cool." Chat said, releasing Ladybug from his hug. "How did you do that when you were asleep?"

"I don't know?" Ladybug stared at the ground as if trying to remember something. "I do know that there are many hidden places in the Betweens that we don't know about. I was in a hidden room that led to another room and it showed Paris on a TV." Ladybug babbled. "I was saying that I wish I could be here to fix everything and that I wish everything was better like before."

"Well I guess your wishes came true because . . . " Chat Noir looked around at the fixed city. "All of the damage is fixed and you turned into Ladybug."

"Yay!" Ladybug shouted with excitment, hugging Chat Noir again.

"You were mumbling a lot stuff in your sleep. I didn't know what you were actually thinking." Chat smiled. "I just hoped that you were dreaming about me, but apparently you were dreaming about Paris."

"Oh don't worry. I dream about you all the time." Ladybug grinned, scratching under Chat Noir's chin. "I really hope all of my wishes came true though . . . or else we won't be able to go out in public with everyone knowing our identities."

"We'll have to wait until later. Keep your fingers crossed." Chat said, crossing his fingers in the air.

"If not, then I'm going back to the Betweens to scream. It brought me back there again, so it better let me finish my wish."

"Why does the Betweens keep bringing you back there anyway?" Chat asked. "It's taking you away from me and destroying my precious time with you." Chat Noir whined, giving her a pouting face.

"I don't know, but quit your whining." Ladybug smiled, letting go of Chat. "By the way . . . what time is it?" Ladybug asked looking up at the dark blue sky.

"About 5:30 a.m." Chat said as he looked at his baton. "When you collapsed on the roof, I took a quick nap, so I'm not that tired. I'm glad you woke up though. I don't think that I can keep a missing girl in my room again."

"Yeah and I don't need my boyfriend getting arrested for kidnapping me." Ladybug laughed, standing up from Chat Noir's lap. "Well . . . I should probably get back home."

"Do you have to go? I enjoyed sitting up here under the stars with you sleeping on my lap."  
Chat complained, holding onto her hand.

"Yeah." Ladybug started. "My parents will be worried if they don't find me sleeping in my room at six in the morning. I had told them yesterday that I was going to stay up in my room for the remainder of the night and I just hope that they didn't check up on me. I can't stay away any longer." She saw the sad look on his face as she helped him up from the ground. "You can visit me in my room later. Just let me get some sleep first."

Ladybug lightly kissed him on the cheek before waving goodbye. She flew from the edge of the mansion using her yo-yo and landed through her trapdoor. She called her kwami to release her transformation and she immediately hopped into bed. She closed her eyes and fell asleep.

* * *

Chat Noir lightly tapped on the trap door on the balcony, awaking Marinette. Marinette jumped at the sound of his knocking, but she quickly made herself look descent and ran back up to the trap door.

"Hello." She said, yawning as she opened the door.

"Sorry. Did I wake you?" Chat asked, hopping into her room.

"Yeah, but it's 10:30, so I might as well be up by now." Marinette answered as she put on a jacket. "My parents came up at around 8:20 to check on me, so they know that I'm okay."

"That's good." Chat Noir detransformed back into Adrien Agreste and tightly hugged Marinette as Plagg flew away to join Tikki on Marinette's desk.

"What's the hug for?" Marinette asked, blinking her tired eyes.

"You looked cold." Adrien said into her shoulder. "And you are my girlfriend. Hugging is part of the deal."

"Okay." Marinette agreed. "It is part of the deal and you really enjoy hugging me."

"Exactly."Adrien said, letting go of her. He looked around her room, but frowned. "Why did you take down all of the pictures of me?"

"Well I didn't just fall for Adrien Agreste." Marinette smiled. "I also fell for Chat Noir and I don't have pictures of both of you. But once I do, I'll put them all back up."

"You have a picture of both of me." Adrien said, stepping forward. He took Marinette's necklace that he'd given her and smiled up at her. "Did you even open it?"

"What?" Marinette's eyes widened as she looked down at the necklace. "It opens?"

"Yeah. See." Adrien opened up the necklace and showed it to her. "There's a picture of me and you as our normal selves on the left side and then there's a picture of us as heroes on the right side."

"Oh. I'm sorry. Sometimes I can be so-"

"Clueless." Adrien finished with a grin.

"Hey!" Marinette shouted, hitting Adrien's arm. "I just didn't realize that your gift was a thousand times more amazing than I thought. And I'm not that clueless."

"Sure." Adrien's grin grew as he raised his eye brows.

"Stop looking at me like that."

"I'm sorry princess, but you're so purretty." Adrien said, staring at her as Marinette rolled her eyes. "Hey, did you check the news at all?" Adrien asked, pulling out his phone.

Adrien laid on the chaise as Marinette came and sat next to him.

"No. Not yet. Why?" Marinette asked, scooting closer.

"I checked the news this morning and the video of you is gone." Adrien said, looking down at his phone screen at news stories. "I checked everywhere online and still nothing. It's like it never happened. Even the news reporters acted normal on the morning news. There is no sign of anyone knowing the truth."

"Do you know if anyone remembers anything?" Marinette stared down at his phone screen. "What about your parents?"

"My parents remember everything like it happened five minutes ago, but the citizens don't have a clue. Like nothing ever happened."

"Are you sure?"

"Yep. I walked around Paris this morning, but no one said my real name or anything out of the ordinary. They still remember the events of yesterday though." Adrein said, holding his phone in front of Marinette. "They remember all of the attacks, but they don't remember us. The attacks were all over the internet today. I guess you really dream big, Marinette. You were dreaming in the Betweens that everything would go back to the way it was and now everything came true."

"That's better than I thought. Now I don't have to go back to the Betweens to scream."

"Yeah, the Betweens would not want to be on your bad side." Adrien said, sitting up on the chaise. "I know I wouldn't. You'd kill me in a second if I angered you."

"Then cool it with the puns, Chat." Marinette smirked.

"Are you threatening me?" Adrien gasped, dramatically placing his hand on his chest.

"Maybe I am." Marinette grinned.

"I think I like you better when you are well rested." Adrien said, standing up. "How about we go out for some coffee?"

"Are you asking me on a date?" Marinette said, standing up next to him. "Because if you are then I accept?"

"Shall we My Lady?" Adrien smiled, holding his hand out to Marinette.

"Why of course My Chaton." Marinette replied, taking his hand. "Wait." She said, stopping him before she looked back at their kwamis. "Do you guys want to come or will you be fine here?"

"We'll be fine here Tikki said, waving goodbye."

"Yeah, go on. We don't want to get in the way of your lovey dovey nonsense." Plagg complained before closing his eyes to sleep.

They both looked at each other and laughed before they left through the trap door with their arms linked. They smiled and gazed peacefully into each others eyes as they made their way to the coffee shop.

* * *

"Plagg!" Tikki shouted, hitting her kwami friend. "Don't be so rude. They're finally together after their long time of searching."

"Well it took them long enough." Plagg said, opening his eyes up again. "It only took us like five minutes to figure out their identities."

"No it didn't, Plagg." Tikki rolled her eyes. "It took us a while too, but they are more clueless than we are. We were hidden away the entire time and only were close enough to realize the truth in the school locker room. They on the other hand see each other everyday and are in the same class."

"Yeah, I don't know how they didn't figure it out sooner." Plagg agreed. "I would have connected the dots sooner if I had a good look at Marinette. But Adrien's bedroom is only for stalking Ladybug not Marinette."

"Well Marinette doesn't have Chat Noir pictures, but if she did, I would have figured it out. "Tikki boasted, putting her paws on her hips. "I would just need to see a picture of both of them, so that I could compare."

"If Adrien wanted to find out her identity so bad, then he shouldn't have be so oblivious to everything. Especially when he was internet stalking her." Plagg joked.

"Did you see Marinette's room before she took her posters down?" Tikki smiled. "She was obsessed with Adrien. You'd think since she has his exact schedule and has done so many stupid things to be around him, that she'd figure it out, but no."

"They're both clueless teenagers." Plagg yawned before closing his eyes again.

"But they're finally together and that's all that matters now." Tikki smiled before closing her eyes as well. "And they're both going to become closer now that they know each other. Especially when we go to London."

"Wait. We're going to London?"

* * *

 **A/N**

 **So that's the end of Marinette and Adrien being in Paris. I thought that at the end of this chapter I'd try to write a little bit of Tikki and Plagg, and I thought of what I could. I'm going to try and write 1 or 2 chapters of them in London. I can't believe that my first fanfiction is almost done. Thanks to everyone who has kept reading and reviewing. I had never wrote fanfiction before September and I'm glad I started. Keep reading.**

 **-Alice Pink**


	16. Chapter 16: London Vacation

**A/N**

 **Sorry it took so long for me to update. I'm not good at ending a fanfiction. This chapter is longer than the other chapters. This is the London chapter and it has each day of the vacation. Sorry for the villain. I couldn't think of a better name for him.**

* * *

 **June 24th:**

Marinette, Alya, Adrien, and Nino have packed for their five day vacation in London. They had traveled on the Eurostar all the way to the United Kingdom. After leaving the train, they headed for their hotel. They eventually entered the Apex Temple Court Hotel, where they were staying.

"Wow." Marinette awed as they stepped into the hotel room. "This place is beautiful."

"Alya." Alya's parents called. "Me and your father will be down stairs. Show your friends where their rooms are and you guys can leave if you want to explore the city."

"Thanks mom." Alya waved, putting down a suitcase. "So." Alya said, stepping in front of here friends. "Adrien, you and Nino can do what ever, but that room is mine and Marinette's." Alya pointed to the right room and opened the door.

"What's so great about that room?" Nino asked.

"This is my gift to Marinette for her birthday." Alya smiled. "Our room has a balcony and Marinette loves balconies."

"What! You guys get a balcony!" Adrien shouted. "I love balconies too."

Alya and Marinette immediately shot Adrien and Nino a strong glare.

"Okay, okay." Adrien and Nino agreed, putting his hands up in defeat.

Marinette helped Alya grab her bags as she dragged them into their room. Marinette turned back around towards the guys and shrugged her shoulders.

"I do like balconies."

Adrien and Nino smiled at each other, shaking their heads before entering their own room.

"So what are we gonna do first?" Marinette asked, bouncing on the bed in their room.

"Sleep." Alya answered, hopping into the bed and diving under the covers.

"We're in another country and all you can think about is sleep?"

"Yep." Alya said, closing her eyes.

"But it's only seven thirty."

"Yeah and I couldn't get any sleep on the train. Me and Nino went to see a movie late last night and I had hoped to get some extra sleep on the train. But sadly that didn't happen."

"Fine." Marinette smiled, getting up off the bed. "I'll let you get some sleep."

Alya had no response. She laid there already half asleep.

* * *

 **Later That Day:**

Marinette walked into the room that Nino and Adrien were staying in.

"So what do you want to do now that we're in London?" She asked with a smile, sitting down next to Adrien on the bed.

"Well there are a ton of amazing things to see here. It's hard to just pick a few." Adrien said, sitting up on the bed. "I do know that I want to see Big Ben, the London Eye, Buckingham Palace, and the London Zoo."

"Sounds like we're gonna be crazy tourists." Marinette laughed.

"Yeah, and I know that I definitely want to go to the London Eye."

"Me too." Marinette got excited. "And I'm mostly excited to see Big Ben. Me and Tikki just want to sit at the very top and watch the sun set like we would in Paris on the Eiffel Tower."

"Well Plagg's not excited to be here, so I won't be having any fun with him. He's not happy since I told him he only gets five meals of cheese a day. I won't be in Paris to get cheese whenever he needs it, so I had to pack a suitcase full of it."

"Ha Ha. My kwami eats sweets, like cookies, and you can find those almost anywhere." Marinette teased.

"Plagg only eats Camembert cheese, so I'm out of luck."

"He would probably eat something else if he was really starving. He's a cat, so . . . he'll probably like anything that's dairy or meat."

"I never thought about that before." Adrien smiled. "He is a cat, so he should like what most cats like. I'm gonna use that against him next time he whines about cheese."

"You should." Marinette giggled.

* * *

 **June 25th:**

Marinette stood on the balcony of hers and Alya's room. She gazed at the city and smiled. Alya was laying on their bed, staring at her phone.

"Hi Alya." Marinette said as she walked back into the room.

"Oh hey, Marinette." Alya said, peaking up, but quickly returned her gaze back to her phone.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm checking the Ladyblog. I wanted to see what everyone thinks about it now that I'm not running it anymore."

"How did they react?" Marinette asked, sitting next to her.

"They're not happy. The Ladyblog used to be so interesting and now everyone's angry." Alya announced, sitting up. "So I've decided to continue running the Ladyblog. Well . . . sort of."

"What? How are you gonna do that? You, yourself, are a hero too."

"Well, I thought that I shouldn't punish everyone for me becoming a miraculous holder. Most of Paris followed the Ladyblog and they might get suspicious that a crazed fangirl just randomly shut down the most popular blog."

"Yeah." Marinette agreed. "It would seem a bit odd."

"I'm letting my fans submit their own stuff to the blog." Alya started. "But I approve everything before it's uploaded. That way no one will have revealing information on the blog. Everyone wins and our secrets are safe."

"That's a good idea." Marinette said, standing up. "I'll see you later, Alya. I'm going to go see Big Ben for some fashion ideas."

"I know you're working for Gabriel Agreste now, but is he really making you work on our vacation?" Alya asked.

"Well." Marinette said, in a suspicious high pitched voice. "He technically told me that I don't have to work while we're here, but this is a whole different country. It's an entirely new area for inspiration and I love fashion designing. Also if I design some really nice stuff, Gabriel might trust me better and let me do more for him."

"Okay, Marinette. Volunteer to do homework when you're on vacation." Alya laughed. "I'll see you later, but be back here at five. My parents want to take us all to the Roux at Parliament Square."

"I'll try to remember." Marinette said, letting her kwami out of her purse. "Tikki! Spots On!"

Once Marinette was transformed, she grabbed her backpack with her sketchbook and leaped off of the balcony, heading for Big Ben.

Ladybug sat down on top of the tower and watched over London.

* * *

"Hey Alya." Adrien started, approaching Alya who was laying on the bed in her room.  
"Where's Marinette?"

"Awe. Do you miss her already?" Alya smirked.

"Your acting like I can't live without her."

"Maybe you can. Maybe you can't."

Adrien glared at Alya. "So where is she?"

"Fashion designing in the city. She's looking for inspiration, which is everywhere since we're in a different country. You may never see her again." Alya smiled, looking up from her phone.

"Did she tell you where she was going?"

"Big Ben." Alya replied.

"Finally." Adrien said, walking to the balcony. "I'll go find her."

"Don't irritate her. Me and her will both kill you if you're too clingy." Alya sat up and threw a sharpie marker at Adrien. for him to catch. "And write a reminder on her arm so she'll remember to come back at five so we all can go to the Roux at Parliament Square. I know she'll forget."

"Got it." Adrien gave a two finger salute and called to Plagg. "Plagg! Claws Out!"

Chat Noir left the room and used his staff to reach Big Ben. He saw ladybug perched on the ledge with her legs dangling off the sides. She had her sketchbook in her lap and her tongue was sticking out. She had a smile spread across her face, looking down at the book.

"Afternoon, My Lady." Chat said, sneaking up on Ladybug.

Ladybug shot him an angry glare for sneaking up on her.

"Sorry." He apologized.

"How are you so quiet? You have a bell." Ladybug said, looking up from her sketchbook. "I should have you chipped so I won't lose you and so you can't sneak up on me."

"Hey!" Chat shouted, his eyes widening. "Don't you think chipping me is a bit extreme?"

"Nope." Ladybug grinned.

"Anyway." Chat said, changing the subject as he sat next to her. "What have you designed?"

"Tons of stuff. It was the best idea ever coming here. Being in a new place gives me so much more inspiration."

"Have you designed anything for me?"

"Yeah." Ladybug smiled, looking back down at her sketchbook.

"Like what." He asked, leaning closer to peak at her work.

"Spoilers kitty." Ladybug covered her designs with her hand so Chat couldn't see them. "You have to wait."

Chat Noir made a sad pouting face at Ladybug, trying to convince her.

"That's not gonna work on m-" Ladybug started before being interrupted by a scream. "Ugh! We're on a vacation and we still have to fight crime."

Ladybug stood up as Chat Noir wrapped his arm around her waist and lifted her in the sky with his baton. They sat at the top of his staff looking about the city.

"I think the scream came from over there." Chat said, pointing across town. "From that café."

"Let's go."

Chat Noir extended his baton more and let it fall forward for them to land on top of a building. They jumped from the building and landed in front of the café. They walked inside to see citizens hiding under tables. Ladybug walked up to the woman at the register.

"What happened here?" She asked, approaching the woman.

"T-There was a m-man. He came in here and . . . s-stole all of the cafe's money. And he took some food out of the back." She stuttered.

"Did you see where he went-"

"You two!" An angry police officer shouted, pointing at Ladybug and Chat Noir. "You're coming with us." He said, placing a handcuff on Ladybug.

Ladybug looked up at him, before protesting. "What?! No! We didn't do this. We're innocent!" She shouted.

"The police were called from this café and told that a masked criminal robbed this place. And you two seem to be the only ones here with masks."

"Well I'm not leaving her side." Chat Noir said, placing the other handcuff on his wrist. Now he was attached to Ladybug. Ladybug gave him an angry look saying "What did you just do?"

"Unless you guys have any proof that you're innocent, then you must come with me."

"Wait!" A citizen shouted, coming out from under a table. "They are telling the truth. I video taped the entire thing. See." The civilian showed the officer a video on his phone and the officer nodded. "These two are superheroes. Just like Le Paon. Remember." The citizen convinced. "The real criminal is the Hungry Thief."

"Okay." The officer sighed. "I guess you two are free to go. I didn't think London would get a visit from superheroes again."

"Again?" Ladybug and Chat Noir questioned.

"Many years ago a heroine named Le Paon visited London. She had stayed for about a month, saving us everyday. She drastically decreased the amount of crime in the city."

"Oh. Another hero." Chat Noir said, pulling Ladybug towards the door. "Well we better get going."

"Wait! Don't you want me to unlock the handcuffs?" The officer shouted.

They walked out of the café without hearing the police officer yell.

"Wait." Ladybug said, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk. "We didn't ask him to unlock our handcuffs."

"I'll use my cataclysm on them later, but . . . not now. I want to enjoy every second I get of being this close to you." Chat smirked, leaning in for a kiss.

Ladybug smiled, rolling her eyes at Chat. She turned his head to the side and kissed his cheek.

"Aw!" Chat moaned.

"We better find a place to detransform." Ladybug said looking around a corner of the street. "Everyone's crowding the streets in front of the hotel from the robbery, so we won't be able to sneak into our room from the balcony."

"Okay." Chat said, dragging her into a clothing store.

They hid behind a clothing rack and called to their kwamis to detransform. They left the store, trying to act normal while being handcuffed.

"Oh, I almost forgot." Adrien said, pulling out the sharpie marker Alya gave him. He grabbed Marinette's wrist and started to write something.

"What are you doing?" Marinette asked, giving him a confused look.

"Alya told me to write a reminder on your arm, so you remember to be back at the hotel by five." Adrien said while righting the message.

"But I told her I wouldn't forget."

Adrien looked up at Marinette, raising his eyebrows with a smile. "Yeah. I'm sure you would of remembered."

Marinette gave Adrien a glare until he was finished writing.

"Let's just get back to the hotel now." Marinette turned around, leading the way.

They started walking through the city, back to the hotel. They tried to hide the handcuffs as they walked, but people still stared.

"Why are you in a rush?" Adrien asked while being dragged away.

Marinette stopped and turned around. "I'm not gonna be late getting back to the hotel." She looked towards Big Ben. "It's 4:15 now, and . . . I've never been early before. Why not start now?" Marinette held her wrist in the air to let the handcuffs make a jingling noise. "And I'm tired of these people giving me dirty looks for being handcuffed to you."

"Okay. Let's go back." Adrien said, holding Marinette's hand. "And I don't care what these people think of us. They can stare all they want." Adrien squeezed Marinette's hand, making her smile again.

They made their way inside of the hotel. They entered their room and saw Alya sitting in the living room reading a magazine.

"Woah. What happened to you two?" Alya chuckled.

"He handcuffed me to him against my will." Marinette answered.

"Hey! Adrien, I thought I told you not to be so clingy."

"I'm not. I just didn't want her to get arrested without me."

"Arrested? What happened to you two?" Alya said, sitting up from the couch.

"We were falsely accused of a robbery." Adrien said.

"Oh." Alya laughed. "You two are the weirdest couple ever."

Marinette and Adrien looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders. "Yeah." They agreed.

"So what are you going to do about being handcuffed to each other?"

"I'll destroy it." Adrien sighed, letting Plagg out of his jacket. "Plagg! Claws Out!" He transformed quickly and grabbed ahold of the chain. "Cataclysm!" He shouted, disintegrating the handcuffs and detransforming again.

"Finally." Marinette said, brushing bits of the chain off her pink jeans. "That was too close for comfort. Now I'm spending the rest of the day perfecting my designs."

Marinette left to hers and Alya's room.

"Marinette!" Alya called. "Don't forget that we'll leave at five to got to the Roux at Parliament Square."

"I know." Marinette said, poking her head around the door. "Adrien wrote it on my arm." Marinette smiled, showing Alya her arm. "And remember. We're going to see the London Eye tomorrow. Don't forget." Marinette gave them a glare before sliding her head back in the room.

* * *

 **June 26th:**

"Time to go see the London eye!" Marinette screamed at Adrien who was still sleeping.

"Ah!" Adrien shouted, throwing his pillow at Marinette's face.

"Thanks for the pillow." Marinette smiled, throwing the pillow back.

"Why would you do that?" Adrien asked, his heart beating fast. "You scared the crap out of me."

"It's ten o'clock and I told you yesterday that we're going to the London Eye."

"So that means you give me a heart attack early in the morning?"

"Well me and Alya already went for coffee this morning and it was so good. But when we got back here, I was so happy and I really really want to go right now." Marinette whined, pulling Adrien's arm.

Adrien saw the caffeine in her eyes and turned to the giggling Alya, who was standing in the doorway. "You did this." He said, pointing a finger at her.

"I can't help it if she likes coffee." Alya laughed. "Besides, I like the way her eyes light up when she drinks too much."

"It makes her go insane. Give her decaf. That's what I do when I take her out for coffee."

"I prefer to give her double the caffeine." Alya grinned. "It's really fun to watch you try to wrangle her."

Adrien glared at Alya before looking back at Marinette who was laying on his arm. "Okay Marinette." He stated. "Let's go see the London Eye."

"Yay!" Marinette shrieked, hugging Adrien. "Let's go."

Marinette quickly dragged Adrien out of the room and past Alya.

"I'll get you back for this." Adrien said, pointing at Alya before she was out of sight.

* * *

"What is Adrien getting back at you for?" Nino asked, approaching Alya, as he watched Marinette take Adrien away.

"I gave Marinette coffee." Alya smiled. "And with double the caffeine."

"But doesn't Marinette like . . . go insane with too much caffeine?"

"Yep."

"Well Adrien's gonna have a fun day."

"Don't worry. Marinette will crash soon. We got coffee forty-five minutes ago and it usually makes her go insane for just an hour before it runs out." Alya grinned, taking out her phone and looking at the screen. "Adrien has about ten to fifteen more minutes with psychotic Marinette."

"Lucky him." Nino laughed.

* * *

"Well . . . we finally get to board the London Eye." Adrien said, leading Marinette forward.

"Yeah. But waiting twenty minutes in line was worth it." Marinette said, yawning.

"I see your coffee has worn off."

"Yes, but I'll still enjoy the London Eye. I just won't be crazy excited."

The two stepped into a passenger capsule and the ferris wheel started moving once they were inside. Marinette ran over to the other side and stared out at the city.

"Look Adrien." Marinette said, pointing at the glass. "There's Buckingham Palace. We should go there later."

Adrien smiled at Marinette and nodded. They gazed at the city as the ferris wheel continued to move. Marinette heard a couple beside them talking about their hero forms.

"Hey John, Did you hear about that café being robbed yesterday by the Hungry Thief?" The woman asked to her husband.

"You mean the one where those two masked heroes showed up?"

"Yes." The woman said, looking down at her phone. "And I did a little bit of research online and found out that the two heroes names are Ladybug and Chat Noir. They usually protect Paris, France."

"Then why would they be here? Shouldn't they be in Paris?" Her husband questioned.

"I don't know. Maybe they're here to protect us from the Hungry Thief." The woman acknowledged, putting her phone away. "They seem to be just like Le Paon."

"Hopefully they'll catch the Hungry Thief." Her husband added.

Marinette turned to face the couple.

"Excuse me, ma'am. But who is the Hungry Thief?" Marinette asked.

"I'm guessing you're not from around here." The woman said, turning to Marinette. "The Hungry Thief is a man that mostly robs cafe's and small shops. He has been robbing London for over a month now and yesterday two heroes showed up at a café he robbed."

"I heard that London has had heroes visit before. Is that true?"

"Yes." The woman answered. "There was a woman called Le Paon that came here for over a month to fix some of the crime in London. She looked like a peacock and she really changed London for the better." The woman smiled. "I hope the two new heroes that have visited will catch the Hungry Thief."

"Thanks for the info." Marinette smiled, turning back to Adrien. "I guess we have some work to do, Adrien."

"Instead of saving Paris, now we're saving London."

"But first . . . we look at this amazing city and then later we go to the Buckingham Palace. This is still a vacation." She smiled.

* * *

 **June 27:**

Marinette sat on the balcony next to Adrien who was on his phone.

"Adrien . . . did you ever ask your mom about her miraculous?" Marinette asked, looking over at him.

"No." Adrien's eyes widened, as he looked up. "I completely forgot about it. I should have asked her what her miraculous was and what all she did."

"Well now you have a lot more to talk about with her." Marinette added. "Although . . . I think I might know what her miraculous is."

"Really! What is it?" Adrien shook Marinette with excitement.

"I think she was Le Paon. The peacock miraculous holder." Marinette said, scooting her chair closer. "I was thinking about it and Master Fu has all of the other miraculouses. Before Nino and Alya got their miraculouses, Master Fu didn't have our miraculouses plus the moth and peacock one. And your mom gave your dad her miraculous and we both know your dad has the moth."

"Yeah. This all makes sense now. She must have been Le Paon." Adrien said in realization. "That also means that she came to London not too long ago."

"Well since London is familiar with superheroes, then they shouldn't be bothered by us." Marinette concluded, pickling up a cup of coffee from the table next to her. "Hopefully they're as welcoming as Paris." She sipped her coffee as Adrien's eyes widened.

"That's decaf, right?!" Adrien asked, pulling it away from Marinette. "Because I don't need a crazy Marinette wandering around London."

"Yes, Adrien." Marinette rolled her eyes, pulling the mug back. "And I don't need a paranoid Adrien panicking in London."

Adrien glared at Marinette before giving her a smile.

"Well I'm just looking out for you. If we really are going to save London, then coffee is not going to help by making Ladybug go insane." He grinned, leaning closer.

"Hmm." Marinette put her hand under her chin and looked up at the sky. "I haven't tried acting like a crazy hero with coffee before. Although I don't think people would like me like that."

"I would still like you." Adrien smiled, kissing the top of her forehead.

"And that's what I love about-"

Marinette was interrupted by police sirens.

"Again." She sighed.

"It looks like they're headed to that plaza over there."

"I bet that's the Hungry Thief." Marinette announced, standing up. "We should check it out." Marinette said, walking back into the hotel room.

Adrien followed her back in and they both motioned for their kwamis to come over. Tikki and Plagg had been talking with Trixx and Wayzz on top of one of the dressers.

"Plagg! Claws Out!"

"Tikki! Spots On!"

They transformed and walked back to the balcony as Alya and Nino entered the room.

"What are you two doing?" Alya asked.

"There are a bunch of police sirens. Probably the Hungry Thief. London needs saved." Chat Noir answered, backing away towards the balcony.

Alya and Nino looked at each other, not knowing what they're friends were talking about.

"What's the Hungry Thief?" Nino asked, confused.

"More importantly, do you need our help?" Alya added.

Ladybug looked at Chat Noir and they shook their heads.

"No. We'll be fine. Besides, you two have no idea what's going on or who it's about." Ladybug said as her and Chat Noir went back out to the balcony.

The two of them leaped up to the hotel roof and bounced against rooftops until they arrived at the scene. There were two police cars standing outside of a bakery. Ladybug and Chat Noir walked inside to see The Hungry Thief no where to be found.

"What happened?" Ladybug asked.

"It was The Hungry Thief." A woman said, approaching them. "He came again and stole all of the money from the register and stole three of the pies. The owners of this place already checked the security cameras, but they were all blank." The woman said sadly.

"Did anyone see where he went?" Chat asked, comforting her. "Do you know anything else about him?"

"No. He always escapes some how . . . but!" The woman shouted. "He always robs a place on the hour. He robs three to four places a week and it's usually in the afternoon. He's always quick and never wastes time to talk. Please tell me that you'll catch him! Please!" The woman cried. "The Hungry Thief had robbed my father's shop four times and now the shop has closed and will never be able to open up again."

"Don't worry." Ladybug said, placing her hand on the woman's shoulder. "We'll find him."

"Yeah." Chat agreed. "We'll look for clues and hopefully find him."

"Thank you." The woman sniffled, wiping away a few tears. "Thank you Ladybug and Chat Noir."

"How do you know our names?" Ladybug asked, moving her hands to her sides.

"I saw you two on the news this morning. You were shown with the news story about the café down the street being robbed."

"Oh." Ladybug smiled. "Anyway . . . don't worry about anything. Me and Chat Noir will investigate."

The woman hugged Ladybug and Chat Noir before they left the bakery and headed back to the hotel.

* * *

 **June 28th:**

"Adrien." Marinette whispered. "Adrien, wake up."

Marinette sat on the floor next to Adrien and Nino's bed, shaking Adrien awake. The room was dark, but she could still see most of Adrien.

"Adrien!" She whisper shouted, raising her voice.

"What?" Adrien moaned, turning his head on it's side and slowly opened his eyes. Adrien saw two pigtails and guessed it was Marinette through his blurry vision. "Marinette." Adrien sat up, rubbing his eyes. "What are you doing in here?"

"I woke up early to watch the morning news to see if they showed any information about the Hungry Thief." Marinette said, leaning on the bedside.

"And that means you wake me up at . . . " Adrien looked around to see the dark room. "What time is it?"

"6:00 a.m."

"And why am I up?"

"Because I searched for clues in the news stories and . . . I think I know where the Hungry Thief is hiding."

"It couldn't wait til like . . . ten?" Adrien yawned.

"Nope." Marinette grinned. "You can get your beauty sleep later and I don't want to sit in my room for four hours waiting, practically killing me inside."

"Okay fine." Adrien accepted, sitting up in the bed. "Tell me what you're thinking."

"Okay." Marinette said gleefully before Adrien shushed her and whispered for her to be quiet so she doesn't wake Nino. "I'll try to stay quiet." Marinette smiled. "Well these are the main things people know about The Hungry Thief: 1. He always robs a place exactly on an hour, 2. He robs food places, and 3. He stays in London. But I researched him and all of the places that were robbed and guess where all of those events occurred. They were all by Big Ben. That explains how he was always on the hour wherever he went. Also . . . " Marinette smiled. "I think that's where he's hiding."

"Really? How did you figure that out? I never would have."

"Well I have this guess that I might be . . . a genius." Marinette grinned. "Or it could be that I've been thinking for almost two hours about this."

"Geez Marinette. How long have you been up?"

"Since like . . . four thirty."

"You need to sleep more."

"I'm fine." Marinette assured.

"Whatever, but If I go with you now to catch the Hungry Thief, will you promise me that you'll get some sleep when we get back?"

"Yes." Marinette said, pulling Adrien off the bed so that he was standing up. "Now let's go." Marinette looked down at Adrien, her cheeks turning red. "And Adrien . . . get dressed." Marinette laughed, walking away.

Adrien soon realized he wasn't wearing any pants and covered himself up. He was just in his boxers.

* * *

Ladybug sat on the balcony in one of the chairs. She sat their with her legs crossed, waiting for Chat Noir. Chat was finally transformed and walked through the other bedroom, covering his eyes. He had slept in just boxers, but he didn't know what all Alya was wearing and he wasn't going to find out.

"So My Lady." Chat Noir grinned, leaning against the doorway to the balcony. "What are we gonna do?"

"Oh. So nice of you to show up, Kitty." Ladybug smiled. "I left Alya a note on her bed so they know where we are." She said, standing up from her seat.

"I wouldn't have thought to do that, but good thing you did or they'd be worried."

"Yeah." Ladybug agreed. "Anyway . . . I think we should check out Big Ben. The Hungry Thief might be hiding there."

"You lead the way." Chat said, following Ladybug off the balcony.

* * *

Ladybug and Chat Noir found their way into the tower. They hid low on the steps leading up to the top, behind the railing. They looked around the tower and saw nothing but an empty room.

"Where is he?" Ladybug whispered, squinting her eyes. She brushed her hair behind her ear and leaned closer. She listened for any sound. "Maybe I was wrong." She said, looking down in disappointment.

Chat placed his hand on her shoulder to comfort her. "Wait." Chat looked up as his ears twitched. "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what? The room's empty."

"There's . . . like a faint . . . whistle."

"It might be from outside." Ladybug suggested.

"No." Chat said, walking up the last few steps. "It's definitely from this room, but . . . where?"

Chat Noir walking around the room, looking around at everything. Ladybug followed him up and looked around, confused. Chat stopped at the edge of the room and his ears continued to move.

"It's definitely right here." He said, stomping on the floor. "There isn't anything above or below this spot, so . . . how is there whistling."

"Wait. Look." Ladybug mumbled, walking over to the corner of the room. "What's that?" She said, pointing up at the top of the corner where a small red dot was.

"It looks like a button." Chat Noir said as he walked over to Ladybug and looked up. "I wonder what it does."

"Only one way to find out." Ladybug said, tossing her yo-yo up at the button.

The button sparkled and the whole room changed into a bedroom.

"What the." Chat mumbled, looking around at the transformed room.

The room was now brown with a bed in the corner. There was disorganized stuff all over the place.

"Why would there be a secret room inside of Big Ben?" Ladybug asked, scrunching her eyebrows.

Suddenly a man appeared in the center of the room. He turned around to face them as he stopped whistling.

"You!" He shouted. "How did you two do that? You aren't suppose to know about this room."

"You're The Hungry Thief." Ladybug pointed out the obvious. "Why and how do you have a hidden room in Big Ben?"

"Yes. You figured it out. I am The Hungry Thief and this is where I live." He grinned. "And it seems you're wondering why I live here. Well I'll tell you."

"Good." Ladybug said, leaning closer to Chat Noir. "Send a message on your baton to Alya so she can call the police."

Chat Noir nodded his head as The Hungry Thief continued to talk.

"So my story is that I'm in debt to everyone. My parents, my siblings, my friends . . . " He began. "I owe everyone money so I started robbing places to get the money that I needed. And I rob food places because I need food and they are small, which means less people-"

"But why the hidden room? And why Big Ben?" Ladybug interrupted.

"Well Ladybug." He started. "I found someone that said he could give me a hidden room if when I rob enough places, I give him some money. I chose Big Ben because tours are here during the day and I won't disturb anyone if I'm loud. Also, the ceilings are high so no one will notice the button. And if they do, then they can't reach."

"Smart for a criminal." Ladybug noted. "But you won't be staying here long." Ladybug said, stepping forward.

Ladybug tripped over a tripwire and was trapped in a rope.

"Oh yes I will." Hungry Thief remarked.

"Ladybug!" Chat shouted, running over to her.

"Why do you have traps in your room?" Ladybug asked.

"In case people like you find me."

"Ladybug." Chat whispered, trying to untie the rope and knots. "Alya called the police. I'm trying to untie these, but they're too tight. I'll use my cataclysm to get you out."

"No." Ladybug stopped him. "You can get me out later. Use your cataclysm on the walls to destroy the room."

Chat nodded his head and shouted "Cataclysm.". He touched the walls and they crumbled. The room changed back to the regular Big Ben inside.

"No!" The Hungry Thief raged.

As the room changed, the police rushed up the stairs. They grabbed ahold of The Hungry Thief and carried him away. The police helped Ladybug out of the ropes and Chat Noir helped her up.

"Thank you so much Ladybug and Chat Noir." One of the officers said.

"Oh. You're welcome." They both said.

Chat Noir looked down at his ring that lost a paw print.

"Well we should get going." Chat said, wrapping his arm around Ladybug and walking with her towards the stairs.

They headed down the stairs as Big Ben rang, marking 7:00 a.m. Ladybug stopped on the stairs and froze. The bell's ring echoed inside of her head.

"What is it?" Chat asked, looking at Ladybug.

"I-It's . . . my head." She said, putting her hand on her head. "I just got a head ache and . . . it's like I'm . . . dreaming or . . . remembering something."

"Is there anything I can do?"

"No. I'm fin-"

Ladybug collapsed right into Chat's arms. He picked her up and carried her bridal style out of Big Ben and all the way back to the hotel. He hurried into the room and set her down on hers and Alya's bed. Alya walked into the room at the same time as they did.

"What happened to her?!" Ayla screamed, running over to Marinette.

"I don't know." Chat said, kneeling down next to her. Chat's transformation wore off and he changed back to Adrien Agreste.

"What do you mean you don't know-?!"

"Alya!" Alya's mom called. "Is something wrong? Is everything okay in there?"

Alya peered her head out the door. "Yeah, mom. Everything's okay."

She tried to give them an okay smile, but gave them a slightly suspicious one. Her parents looked at each other, confused. Alya immediately shut the door and slid down it to the floor with a loud sigh. She got up again and retreated back over to Marinette.

"So what's going on?" She said, lowering her voice.

"I don't know." Adrien whispered. "We caught The Hungry Thief, but right after she said her head hurt and then she collapsed into my arms. I have no idea what's wrong with her-"

Adrien was interrupted my Ladybug moaning in her sleep. A frown appeared on her face and she moved her head to the side. Her eyes slowly crept open to see Adrien next to her.

"Marinette!" Adrien shouted, relieved.

"What?" Ladybug asked, sitting up. "Why am I here?" Ladybug looked down to see that she was still in costume. "Tikki. Spots Off." She whispered.

"When you collapsed, I brought you here." Adrien answered, getting up to sit next to her. "But Marinette . . . why did you collapse?"

Marinette's eyes widened as she remembered. "I was remembering something!" She shouted, shaking Adrien. "I remembered something that I had forgot about in the Betweens. The book told me that I would only unlock the secrets when the time was right. I guess that Big Ben made me remember and . . . we need to get back to Paris." Marinette babbled.

"Woah, wait. Slow down, Marinette." Adrien said, placing his hands on Marinette's shoulders.

"Yeah, Marinette." Alya said from the edge of the bed. "Speak understandably, so we can help."

"I was reading about a book about the future in the Betweens. It told me about the future, but I forgot everything when I looked away from the it. And now I'm starting to remember what I forgot." Marinette finished.

"What did the book say?" Adrien asked, confused.

"It said that a great evil is coming and he will be much more powerful than Hawkmoth. I think he's called the Collector. And we need to figure everything out when we leave for Paris tomorrow." Marinette paused and put her hand under her chin to think. "And . . . there's something else, but . . . I can't seem to remember yet."

"Well we'll figure everything out when we get back to Paris." Adrien smiled. "I'm just glad that you're okay." Adrien wrapped his arms around Marinette and hugged her.

"Such a crazy vacation." Alya mumbled, snapping a picture of them hugging on the bed with her phone. "Til we're back in Paris."

 **The End**

* * *

 **A/N**

 **I tried my best with this chapter, but I don't know how it really turned out. It's my longest chapter, since it's the end, and it's a different set up from my other chapters. I tried to come up with a story for each day. It was hard, but I'm not good at finishing up a fanfiction.**

 **That's the end to my first fanfiction. I'm crying inside, but I'm not. I'm already thinking of new fanfiction stories. If anyone has an idea for me to include in one of my next fanfictions, tell me. I'm all ears.**

 **-Alice Pink**


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